Which to use
“lacing” and “laying” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,579
- “lacing” frequency rank
- #5,514
- “laying” frequency rank
- 52093
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lacing | laying |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | present participle and gerund of lace | present participle and gerund of lay |
Where the eye mixes lacing and laying
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. lacing (CVCVCC) and laying (CVVVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: lacing vs laying
A purely visual mix-up. lacing (/ˈleɪsɪŋ/) and laying (/ˈleɪ.ɪŋ/) 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 a single letter - c in “lacing” becomes y in “laying”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52093, 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/. laying is at rank #5,514, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈleɪ.ɪŋ/.
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 52093, this pair ranks #159,898 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lacing vs laying
Shared letters: agiln. Private to "lacing": c. Private to "laying": y.
"lacing" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "laying" · 6 letters · shape CVVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lacing" and "laying" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "lacing" or "laying"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "lacing" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "laying" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #159,898 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lacing" and "laying" 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 #159,898 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.