plaider

\ple.de\

/\ple.de\/ verb

The verdict

“plaider” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #14,113 in French word frequency and used as a verb.

#14,113
frequency rank, French
7
letters
10
tracked misspellings
19
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Contester en justice.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

plaider vs plaie
71% similar
plaider vs plier
71% similar
plaider vs plaire
71% similar

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

Key facts for plaider
PropertyValue
Headwordplaider
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\ple.de\
Letters7
Frequency rank#14,113
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs19
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “plaider” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). plaider lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for plaider is 7 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ple.de\. Corpus data places it at rank #14,113 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for plaider, with forms such as "lpaider", "palider", and "pladier". 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 19 confusable-pair relationships, "plaie", "plier", "plaire", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is plaider, spelled P-L-A-I-D-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Contester en justice.
  2. 2
    Défendre ou soutenir de vive voix la cause ou le droit d’une partie devant les juges.
  3. 3
    Défendre ; soutenir.
  4. 4
    Avancer, soutenir un fait, employer, faire valoir un moyen en plaidant.
  5. 5
    Être susceptible d'une argumentation devant une autorité judiciaire.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: lpaider,palider,pladier,plaidder,plaiderr,plaidre,plaiedr,pliader,pllaider,pplaider

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of plaider - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

lpaider2palider2pladier2plaidder1plaiderr1plaidre2plaiedr2pliader2
Edit distance from "plaider"

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 "plaider"?
"plaider" is spelled P-L-A-I-D-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \ple.de\.
What does "plaider" mean?
As a verb, "plaider" means: Contester en justice.
What words are commonly confused with "plaider"?
"plaider" is commonly confused with "plaie", "plier", "plaire". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "plaider"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "plaider" is \ple.de\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "plaider" come from?
"plaider" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

Using “plaider”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is P-L-A-I-D-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ple.de\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “plaie” - see the side-by-side comparison. plaider vs plaie
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list