Which to use
“lagging” and “lasting” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,134
- “lagging” frequency rank
- #5,979
- “lasting” frequency rank
- 28113
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lagging | lasting |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | falling behind, not keeping up the pace | Persisting for an extended period of time. |
Letter map: lagging vs lasting
Shared letters muted; letters that set lagging and lasting apart highlighted. Shared run: 5.
Corpus notes: lagging and lasting
lagging and lasting are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28113, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lagging is recorded at frequency rank #22,134, classified as anadj. lasting is at rank #5,979, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈlɑːstɪŋ/.
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 28113, this pair ranks #373,623 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lagging vs lasting
Shared letters: agiln. Private to "lagging": -. Private to "lasting": st.
"lagging" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "lasting" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lagging" and "lasting" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "lagging" or "lasting" show up more?
What to do next
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "lagging" and "lasting".
- Full dictionary entry for "lagging" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lasting" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #373,623 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lagging" and "lasting" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lagging vs lugging". 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 #373,623 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.