lowdown

noun

"lowdown" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“lowdown” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #45,490. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#45,490
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - inside information, the story or truth.

Corpus desk

Index EN-lowdown · lowdown · English

lowdown · rank #45,490 · 11 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #45,490
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH Loudon

Nearest frequency peer: Loudon (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “lowdown”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “lowdown” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

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).

lowdown vs London
57% similar
lowdown vs Loudon
57% similar
lowdown vs letdown
71% similar

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

Key facts for lowdown
PropertyValue
Headwordlowdown
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters7
Frequency rank#45,490
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “lowdown”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).lowdownlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Loudon” (#45,489), “loy” (#45,491), “Lombardo” (#45,487). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “lowdown” is #45,490. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around lowdown, anoun. Corpus frequency is #45,490 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for lowdown, with forms such as "llowdown", "lodwown", and "lowddown". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "London", "Loudon", "letdown", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Compound adjective of low + down in the sense of "humble" recorded in the 1540s, in the sense of "vulgar, far down the social scale" in 1888. Recorded as a noun in 1915 in the slang sense of secret or inside information. The correct English form is lowdown, spelled L-O-W-D-O-W-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    inside information, the story or truth.
  2. 2
    A lowlife, a despicable person.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. All the reporters hoped to be the first to get the lowdown on the celebrity's marriage plans.
  2. here's the lowdown

Etymology

Compound adjective of low + down in the sense of "humble" recorded in the 1540s, in the sense of "vulgar, far down the social scale" in 1888. Recorded as a noun in 1915 in the slang sense of secret or inside information.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • llowdown
  • lodwown
  • lowddown
  • lowdonw
  • lowdownn
  • lowdowwn
  • lowdwon
  • lowodwn
  • lowwdown
  • lwodown
  • olwdown

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of lowdown - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

llowdown1lodwown2lowddown1lowdonw2lowdownn1lowdowwn1lowdwon2lowodwn2
Edit distance from "lowdown"

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 "lowdown"?
"lowdown" is spelled L-O-W-D-O-W-N.
What does "lowdown" mean?
As a noun, "lowdown" means: inside information, the story or truth.
What words are commonly confused with "lowdown"?
"lowdown" is commonly confused with "London", "Loudon", "letdown". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "lowdown"?
Compound adjective of low + down in the sense of "humble" recorded in the 1540s, in the sense of "vulgar, far down the social scale" in 1888. Recorded as a noun in 1915 in the slang sense of secret or inside information. 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 "lowdown", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list