Which to use
“lasts” and “laws” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,309
- “lasts” frequency rank
- #1,370
- “laws” frequency rank
- 9679
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lasts | laws |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of last | plural of law |
Where the eye mixes lasts and laws
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: lasts vs laws
A purely visual mix-up. lasts (/lɑːsts/) and laws (/lɔːz/) 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 9679, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lasts is recorded at frequency rank #8,309, classified as anoun, pronounced /lɑːsts/. laws is at rank #1,370, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɔːz/.
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 9679, this pair ranks #496,173 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lasts vs laws
Shared letters: als. Private to "lasts": t. Private to "laws": w.
"lasts" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "laws" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lasts" and "laws" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "lasts" vs "laws" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "lasts" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "laws" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #496,173 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lasts" and "laws" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lav vs laws". 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 #496,173 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.