lest

\lɛst\

/\lɛst\/ noun

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

The verdict

“lest” has 6 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #27,865. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#27,865
frequency rank, French
2,567
“L” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Pierres, sable ou autres matières pesantes dont on charge le fond d’un bateau pour lui donner la stabilité convenable, en le faisant suffisamment entrer dans l’eau.

Corpus desk

Index FR-lest · lest · French

lest · rank #27,865 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #27,865
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,567
  • PHOTO-FINISH lectorat

Nearest frequency peer: lectorat (-1 rank slots)

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.

Pairs de rang près de l'aimant d'erreurs « lest »

Même bande de rareté: utile si une faute tombe sur un lemme voisin

corpus weight

What this shows « lest » siège parmi ces pairs FrequencyWords; la profondeur des fautes est suivie à part dans le graphique d'édition.

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).

lest vs LT
0% similar
lest vs LS
0% similar
lest vs lit
50% similar

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

Key facts for lest
PropertyValue
Headwordlest
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\lɛst\
Letters4
Frequency rank#27,865
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « lest »

De gauche à droite: le peu qui porte la parole quotidienne, puis la longue queue quasi invisible.lestse place ici:

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

Les tics avancent en logarithme; chacun est de l'ordre de dix fois plus rare. Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « lectorat » (#27,864), « Liliane » (#27,866), « laisserais » (#27,863). Parmi 2,567 lemmes en « L », « lest » est au #27,865. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around lest (IPA \lɛst\), anoun. Corpus frequency is #27,865 among 2,567 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for lest, with forms such as "elst", "lesst", and "lestt". 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", "LS", "lit", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is lest, spelled L-E-S-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Pierres, sable ou autres matières pesantes dont on charge le fond d’un bateau pour lui donner la stabilité convenable, en le faisant suffisamment entrer dans l’eau.
  2. 2
    Sacs de sable qui sont placés dans la nacelle d’un ballon et qu’on jette pour donner plus de légèreté au ballon.
  3. 3
    Poids supplémentaire porté dans un planeur pour déplacer le domaine de performance optimale vers des vitesses supérieures. Souvent de l’eau est stockée dans une soute, et peut être évacué pendant le vol.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Non, son ardent désir, c’est le bateau mouvant Avec sa voile ronde et ses deux focs au vent Et le lest de galets humides qui le charge
  2. Jeter du lest.

This word in other languages

ballast(English)lastre(Español)Ballast(Deutsch)lastro(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • elst
  • lesst
  • lestt
  • lets
  • llest
  • lset

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

elst2lesst1lestt1lets2llest1lset2
Edit distance from "lest"

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 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "lest"?
"lest" is spelled L-E-S-T. The IPA pronunciation is \lɛst\.
What does "lest" mean?
As a noun, "lest" means: Pierres, sable ou autres matières pesantes dont on charge le fond d’un bateau pour lui donner la stabilité convenable, en le faisant suffisamment entrer dans l’eau.
What words are commonly confused with "lest"?
"lest" is commonly confused with "LT", "LS", "lit". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "lest"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lest" is \lɛst\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "lest" come from?
"lest" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 French words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

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

mana#27,873gags#27,821feed#27,809RGPD#27,946

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

Katia6 variantsmagne6 variantsopposa6 variantsosais6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list