Which to use
“laying” and “lying” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,514
- “laying” frequency rank
- #2,164
- “lying” frequency rank
- 7678
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | laying | lying |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | present participle and gerund of lay | present participle and gerund of lie (“to rest in a horizontal position”) |
Where the eye mixes laying and lying
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between laying and lying
A purely visual mix-up. laying (/ˈleɪ.ɪŋ/) 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 7678, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
laying is recorded at frequency rank #5,514, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈleɪ.ɪŋ/. 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 7678, this pair ranks #506,070 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of laying vs lying
Shared letters: gilny. Private to "laying": a. Private to "lying": -.
"laying" · 6 letters · shape CVVVCC · "lying" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "laying" and "lying" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "laying" vs "lying" - 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 "laying" 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 #506,070 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "laying" and "lying" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "laying 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 #506,070 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.