Which to use
“lead” is a noun and “lean” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #636
- “lead” frequency rank
- #5,705
- “lean” frequency rank
- 6341
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lead | lean |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A heavy, pliable, inelastic metal element, having a bright, bluish color, but easily tarnished; both malleable and ductile, though with little tenacity. It is easily fusible, forms alloys with other metals, and is an ingredient of solder and type metal. Atomic number 82, symbol Pb (from Latin plumbum). | To incline, deviate, or bend, from a vertical position; to be in a position thus inclining or deviating. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lead and lean apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
lead and lean form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by a single letter - d in “lead” becomes n in “lean” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6341, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lead is recorded at frequency rank #636, classified as anoun, pronounced /lɛd/. lean is at rank #5,705, tagged as averb, pronounced /liːn/.
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 6341, this pair ranks #511,812 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lead" and "lean" be used interchangeably?
Remembering lead vs lean
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “lead”; for a verb, it's “lean”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lead” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable