loot

/luːt/

//luːt// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"loot" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“loot” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #15,213) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#15,213
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Synonym of booty, goods seized from an enemy by violence, particularly (historical) during the sacking of a town in war or (video games) after successful combat.

Corpus desk

Index EN-loot · loot · English

loot · rank #15,213 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #15,213
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH login

Nearest frequency peer: login (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “loot”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “loot” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

loot vs Lt
25% similar
loot vs lot
75% similar
loot vs low
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for loot
PropertyValue
Headwordloot
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/luːt/
Letters4
Frequency rank#15,213
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “loot”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).lootlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “login” (#15,212), “Lorenzo” (#15,214), “lodged” (#15,211). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “loot” is #15,213. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for loot is neighbouring look-alikes ("Lt", "lot", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /luːt/. Frequency #15,213 among 2,297 “L” headwords. 4 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for loot, with forms such as "lloot", "loott", and "loto". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Lt", "lot", "low", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Hindi लूट (lūṭ, “booty”), either from Sanskrit लोप्त्र (loptra, “booty, stolen property”) or लुण्ट् (luṇṭ, “to rob, plunder”). The figurative meaning developed in American English in the 1920s, resulting in a generalized meaning by the 1950s. The correct English form is loot, spelled L-O-O-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Synonym of booty, goods seized from an enemy by violence, particularly (historical) during the sacking of a town in war or (video games) after successful combat.
  2. 2
    Synonym of sack, the plundering of a city, particularly during war.
  3. 3
    Any valuable thing received for free, especially Christmas presents.
  4. 4
    Synonym of money.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how loot appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Loot, plunder, pillage.
  2. He always found the talismanic gathering-word Loot (plunder), a sufficient bond of union in any part of India.

Etymology

Borrowed from Hindi लूट (lūṭ, “booty”), either from Sanskrit लोप्त्र (loptra, “booty, stolen property”) or लुण्ट् (luṇṭ, “to rob, plunder”). The figurative meaning developed in American English in the 1920s, resulting in a generalized meaning by the 1950s.

This word in other languages

botín(Español)fric(Français)Knete(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • lloot
  • loott
  • loto
  • olot

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of loot - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

lloot1loott1loto2olot2
Edit distance from "loot"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "loot"?
"loot" is spelled L-O-O-T. The IPA pronunciation is /luːt/.
What does "loot" mean?
As a noun, "loot" means: Synonym of booty, goods seized from an enemy by violence, particularly (historical) during the sacking of a town in war or (video games) after successful combat.
What words are commonly confused with "loot"?
"loot" is commonly confused with "Lt", "lot", "low". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "loot"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "loot" is /luːt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "loot"?
Borrowed from Hindi लूट (lūṭ, “booty”), either from Sanskrit लोप्त्र (loptra, “booty, stolen property”) or लुण्ट् (luṇṭ, “to rob, plunder”). The figurative meaning developed in American English in the 1920s, resulting in a generalized meaning by t... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "loot", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

loaf#15,210LIGA#15,209knob#15,203musk#15,223

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list