Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

layperson

/ˈleɪ.pɜɹ.sən/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.28 in modern English

Syllables: layper-son
IPA: /ˈleɪ.pɜɹ.sən/

14

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

3

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A person who is not a cleric.

noun

One who is not intimately familiar with a given subject or activity.

Example Sentences

"Holonyms: laity; see also Thesaurus:laity"
"We should not underestimate European laypeople. They were perfectly capable of thinking for themselves, particularly about death, a religious theme in which everyone had an investment and about which everyone was likely to have an opinion. There is no need to invoke the idea of systematic pagan survival to account for this: Europe’s mass Christianization had been a steady if piecemeal process from the sixth century through to the fourteenth."
"The book was written for professionals, but an intelligent layperson could understand most of it."

Etymology

A lay (“non-clergy, nonclergy”) + person, along the lines of layman.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈleɪ.pɜɹ.sən/

Inflected Forms

laypeople (plural) laypersons (plural) lay person (alternative)

Frequently Paired Words

lay amateur

Synonyms

nonexpert nonspecialist laic layperson parishioner secular

Antonyms

aficionado expert professional specialist cleric nonparishioner

Rhymes With

ursin

Questions

How do you pronounce layperson?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈleɪ.pɜɹ.sən/.
What does layperson mean?: A person who is not a cleric.
Where does layperson come from?: A lay (“non-clergy, nonclergy”) + person, along the lines of layman.

How to pronounce layperson

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “layperson”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈleɪ.pɜɹ.sən/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “layperson”.
Repeat and practice — Say “layperson” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.