lure

/lʊə/

//lʊə// noun

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

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

The verdict

“lure” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,738. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#11,738
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Something that tempts or attracts, especially one with a promise of reward or pleasure.

Corpus desk

Index EN-lure · lure · English

lure · rank #11,738 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #11,738
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH locality

Nearest frequency peer: locality (-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 “lure”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “lure” 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).

lure vs lux
50% similar
lure vs luv
50% similar
lure vs luz
50% similar

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

Key facts for lure
PropertyValue
Headwordlure
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/lʊə/
Letters4
Frequency rank#11,738
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “lure”

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).lurelands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “locality” (#11,737), “malicious” (#11,739), “lg” (#11,736). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “lure” is #11,738. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around lure (IPA /lʊə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #11,738 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for lure, with forms such as "llure", "lrue", and "luer". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "lux", "luv", "luz", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Anglo-Norman lure, from Old French loirre (Modern French leurre), from Frankish *lōþr, from Proto-Germanic *lōþr-, perhaps ultimately related to *laþō (“invitation, calling”), or from Proto-Indo-European *leh₂- (“to hide”). Compare English allure, also… The correct English form is lure, spelled L-U-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Something that tempts or attracts, especially one with a promise of reward or pleasure.
  2. 2
    An artificial bait attached to a fishing line to attract fish.
  3. 3
    A bunch of feathers attached to a line, used in falconry to recall the hawk.
  4. 4
    A velvet smoothing brush.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. How many have with a smile made small account Of Beauty and her lures
  2. My Faulcon now is ſharpe and paſſing emptie, / And til ſhe ſtoope ſhe muſt not be full gorg'd, / For then ſhe never lookes upon her lure.

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman lure, from Old French loirre (Modern French leurre), from Frankish *lōþr, from Proto-Germanic *lōþr-, perhaps ultimately related to *laþō (“invitation, calling”), or from Proto-Indo-European *leh₂- (“to hide”). Compare English allure, also from Old French. Probably related to German Luder (“bait”).

This word in other languages

cebo(Español)attrait(Français)Lockmittel(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • llure
  • lrue
  • luer
  • lurre
  • ulre

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of lure - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

llure1lrue2luer2lurre1ulre2
Edit distance from "lure"

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 "lure"?
"lure" is spelled L-U-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /lʊə/.
What does "lure" mean?
As a noun, "lure" means: Something that tempts or attracts, especially one with a promise of reward or pleasure.
What words are commonly confused with "lure"?
"lure" is commonly confused with "lux", "luv", "luz". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "lure"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lure" is /lʊə/. 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 "lure"?
From Anglo-Norman lure, from Old French loirre (Modern French leurre), from Frankish *lōþr, from Proto-Germanic *lōþr-, perhaps ultimately related to *laþō (“invitation, calling”), or from Proto-Indo-European *leh₂- (“to hide”). Compare English al... 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 "lure", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

lays#11,734mist#11,744mole#11,745holt#11,721

Similar misspelling depth

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

Nikki5 variantsgala5 variantsripe5 variantsdove5 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list