Which to use
“lacing” and “lacking” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,579
- “lacing” frequency rank
- #6,260
- “lacking” frequency rank
- 52839
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lacing | lacking |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | present participle and gerund of lace | present participle and gerund of lack |
Where the eye mixes lacing and lacking
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses lacing with lacking
A purely visual mix-up. lacing (/ˈleɪsɪŋ/) and lacking (/ˈlækɪŋ/) 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 52839, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lacing is recorded at frequency rank #46,579, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈleɪsɪŋ/. lacking is at rank #6,260, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈlækɪŋ/.
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 52839, this pair ranks #153,790 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lacing vs lacking
Shared letters: acgiln. Private to "lacing": -. Private to "lacking": k.
"lacing" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "lacking" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lacing" for "lacking" ever safe?
Frequency check: "lacing" vs "lacking" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "lacing" and "lacking" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lacing" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lacking" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #153,790 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lacing" and "lacking" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lacing vs loring". 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 #153,790 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.