Which to use
“lacing” and “lying” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,579
- “lacing” frequency rank
- #2,164
- “lying” frequency rank
- 48743
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lacing | lying |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | present participle and gerund of lace | present participle and gerund of lie (“to rest in a horizontal position”) |
Where the eye mixes lacing and lying
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between lacing and lying
A purely visual mix-up. lacing (/ˈleɪsɪŋ/) and lying (/ˈlaɪ.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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48743, 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/. lying is at rank #2,164, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈlaɪ.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 48743, this pair ranks #190,171 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lacing vs lying
Shared letters: giln. Private to "lacing": ac. Private to "lying": y.
"lacing" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "lying" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lacing" and "lying" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "lacing" or "lying" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "lacing" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lying" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #190,171 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lacing" and "lying" 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 #190,171 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.