Which to use
“laces” and “lays” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,812
- “laces” frequency rank
- #11,734
- “lays” frequency rank
- 36546
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | laces | lays |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of lace | plural of lay |
Where the eye mixes laces and lays
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses laces with lays
A purely visual mix-up. laces (/ˈleɪ.sɪz/) and lays (/leɪz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36546, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
laces is recorded at frequency rank #24,812, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈleɪ.sɪz/. lays is at rank #11,734, tagged as anoun, pronounced /leɪz/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 36546, this pair ranks #302,249 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of laces vs lays
Shared letters: als. Private to "laces": ce. Private to "lays": y.
"laces" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "lays" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "laces" and "lays" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "laces" vs "lays" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "laces" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lays" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #302,249 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "laces" and "lays" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "laces vs laver". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #302,249 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.