Which to use
“last” is an adjective and “lists” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #141
- “last” frequency rank
- #3,767
- “lists” frequency rank
- 3908
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | last | lists |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Final, ultimate, coming after all others of its kind. | plural of list |
Where the eye mixes last and lists
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: last vs lists
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: last is /lɑːst/ while lists is /lɪsts/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3908, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
last is recorded at frequency rank #141, classified as anadj, pronounced /lɑːst/. lists is at rank #3,767, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɪsts/.
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 3908, this pair ranks #520,602 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of last vs lists
Shared letters: lst. Private to "last": a. Private to "lists": i.
"last" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "lists" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "last" and "lists" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "last" or "lists"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "last" and "lists" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "last" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lists" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #520,602 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "last" and "lists" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lisle vs lists". 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 #520,602 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.