leadedvsleakerWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: leaded is a adjective, leaker is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“leaded” is an adjective and “leaker” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#44,898
“leaded” frequency rank
#48,319
“leaker” frequency rank
93217
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature leaded leaker
Definition Held in place by strips of lead. Somebody who leaks information.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set leaded and leaker apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
leaded
6 ch
leaker

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: leaded is anadjective and leakeranoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 93217, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

leaded is recorded at frequency rank #44,898, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈlɛdɪd/. leaker is at rank #48,319, tagged as anoun.

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 93217, this pair ranks #2,077 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of leaded vs leaker

Shared letters: ael. Private to "leaded": d. Private to "leaker": kr.

"leaded" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "leaker" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • leadedeladed · laeded · leadde · leadded · leadedd · leaedd · ledaed · lleaded
  • leakerelaker · laeker · leaekr · leakerr · leakker · leakre · lekaer · lleaker

Frequency comparison

leaded#44,898
leaker#48,319

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "leaded" and "leaker" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "leaded" is an adjective and "leaker" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "leaded" or "leaker"?
"leaded" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #44,898 in our English list, against #48,319 for "leaker". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering leaded vs leaker

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “leaded”; for a noun, it's “leaker”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “leaded” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list