# lacking vs laying

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### lacking
*verb · IPA /ˈlækɪŋ/ · frequency rank #6,260*
present participle and gerund of lack

### laying
*verb · IPA /ˈleɪ.ɪŋ/ · frequency rank #5,514*
present participle and gerund of lay

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lacking-vs-laying