Which to use
“leases” is a verb and “less” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,955
- “leases” frequency rank
- #305
- “less” frequency rank
- 17260
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | leases | less |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | third-person singular simple present indicative of lease | comparative degree of little |
Where the eye mixes leases and less
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses leases with less
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: leases is /ˈlisɪz/ while less is /lɛs/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17260, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
leases is recorded at frequency rank #16,955, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈlisɪz/. less is at rank #305, tagged as anadv, pronounced /lɛs/.
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 17260, this pair ranks #452,607 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of leases vs less
Shared letters: els. Private to "leases": a. Private to "less": -.
"leases" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "less" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "leases" and "less" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "leases" vs "less" - which ranks higher?
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 "leases" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "less" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #452,607 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "leases" and "less" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "leases vs lessee". 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 #452,607 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.