lyre
/ˈlaɪ.ɚ/noun, verb
lyre is spelled L-Y-R-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 46,473rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, lyre means “An ancient stringed musical instrument (a yoke lute chordophone) of Greek origin, consisting of two arms extending from a body to a crossbar (a…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of lyre is lyres.
How many letters and syllables are in lyre?
| Letters | 4: L-Y-R-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 46,473rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is lyre?
Lyre appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 46,473rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce lyre?
- UK /ˈlaɪ.ə/
- UK /lɑə̯ ~ lɑː/
- US /ˈlaɪ.ɚ/
Lyre has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-lyre.wav, Lyre-Liar-us-eng.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with lyre
Sounds like: liar, lier (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with lyre?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as lyre from its last stressed vowel (/aɪəɹ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: rely.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of lyre
- lyres plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- lyring participle, present
- lyred participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lyre mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An ancient stringed musical instrument (a yoke lute chordophone) of Greek origin, consisting of two arms extending from a body to a crossbar (a yoke), and strings, parallel to the soundboard, connecting the body to the yoke.
- 2
Any instrument of the same musicological classification; any yoke lute.
- 3
A lyre-shaped sheet music holder that attaches to a wind instrument when a music stand is impractical.
- 4
obsoleteA composer of lyric poetry.
verb
- 1
rareto play the lyre
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Lyre in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense stringed musical instrument:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does lyre come from?
From Middle English lire (13th c.), from Old French lire, from Latin lyra, from Ancient Greek λύρᾱ (lúrā, “lyre, a stringed instrument with a sounding-board formed of the shell of a tortoise”). Doublet of lira, lyra, and Lyra.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).