lute

/l(j)uːt/

//l(j)uːt// noun

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

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

The verdict

“lute” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #34,168. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#34,168
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A fretted stringed instrument, similar to the guitar, having a bowl-shaped body or soundbox; any of a wide variety of chordophones with a pear-shaped body and a neck whose upper surface is in the s...

Corpus desk

Index EN-lute · lute · English

lute · rank #34,168 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #34,168
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH luring

Nearest frequency peer: luring (-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 “lute”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “lute” 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).

lute vs lux
50% similar
lute vs luv
50% similar
lute vs luz
50% similar

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

Key facts for lute
PropertyValue
Headwordlute
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/l(j)uːt/
Letters4
Frequency rank#34,168
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “lute”

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).lutelands 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 “luring” (#34,167), “lx” (#34,169), “lor” (#34,165). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “lute” is #34,168. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around lute (IPA /l(j)uːt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #34,168 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A fretted stringed instrument, similar to the guitar, having a bowl-shaped body or soundbox; any of a wide variety of chordophones with a pear-shaped body and a neck whose upper surface is in the s...".

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for lute, with forms such as "llute", "ltue", and "luet". 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, "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 Middle French lut (modern luth), from Old French leüt, probably from Old Occitan laüt, from Arabic اَلْعُود (al-ʕūd, “wood”) (probably representing an Andalusian Arabic or North African pronunciation). Doublet of oud, lavta, and laouto. The correct English form is lute, spelled L-U-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A fretted stringed instrument, similar to the guitar, having a bowl-shaped body or soundbox; any of a wide variety of chordophones with a pear-shaped body and a neck whose upper surface is in the same plane as the soundboard, with strings along the neck and parallel to the soundboard.

Etymology

From Middle French lut (modern luth), from Old French leüt, probably from Old Occitan laüt, from Arabic اَلْعُود (al-ʕūd, “wood”) (probably representing an Andalusian Arabic or North African pronunciation). Doublet of oud, lavta, and laouto.

This word in other languages

laúd(Español)luth(Français)Laute(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • llute
  • ltue
  • luet
  • lutte
  • ulte

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of lute - 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.

llute1ltue2luet2lutte1ulte2
Edit distance from "lute"

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 "lute"?
"lute" is spelled L-U-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /l(j)uːt/.
What does "lute" mean?
As a noun, "lute" means: A fretted stringed instrument, similar to the guitar, having a bowl-shaped body or soundbox; any of a wide variety of chordophones with a pear-shaped body and a neck whose upper surface is in the s...
What words are commonly confused with "lute"?
"lute" 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 "lute"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lute" is /l(j)uːt/. 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 "lute"?
From Middle French lut (modern luth), from Old French leüt, probably from Old Occitan laüt, from Arabic اَلْعُود (al-ʕūd, “wood”) (probably representing an Andalusian Arabic or North African pronunciation). Doublet of oud, lavta, and laouto. 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 "lute", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

leek#34,158mala#34,178marv#34,181lain#34,154

Similar misspelling depth

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

Magee5 variantsHesse5 variantshams5 variantssmut5 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list