Which to use
“lead” is a noun and “leave” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #636
- “lead” frequency rank
- #457
- “leave” frequency rank
- 1093
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lead | leave |
|---|---|---|
| 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 have a consequence or remnant. |
Where the eye mixes lead and leave
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between lead and leave
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lead is /lɛd/ while leave is /liːv/. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1093, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lead is recorded at frequency rank #636, classified as anoun, pronounced /lɛd/. leave is at rank #457, tagged as averb, pronounced /liːv/.
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 1093, this pair ranks #528,120 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lead vs leave
Shared letters: ael. Private to "lead": d. Private to "leave": v.
"lead" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "leave" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lead" and "leave" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "lead" or "leave"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "lead" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "leave" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #528,120 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lead" and "leave" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lead vs lel". 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 #528,120 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.