Which to use
“leads” is a noun and “least” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,259
- “leads” frequency rank
- #348
- “least” frequency rank
- 2607
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | leads | least |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of lead | Chiefly preceded by the: superlative form of little: most little. |
Where the eye mixes leads and least
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: leads is /lɛdz/ while least is /liːst/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2607, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
leads is recorded at frequency rank #2,259, classified as anoun, pronounced /lɛdz/. least is at rank #348, tagged as anadj, pronounced /liːst/.
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 2607, this pair ranks #524,535 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of leads vs least
Shared letters: aels. Private to "leads": d. Private to "least": t.
"leads" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "least" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC