leastvsLSTConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#348
“least” frequency rank
#33,313
“LST” frequency rank
33661
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature least LST
Definition Chiefly preceded by the: superlative form of little: most little. Initialism of landing ship, tank.

Letter map: least vs LST

Shared letters muted; letters that set least and LST apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.

5 ch
least
3 ch
LST

Grammar separator: least vs LST

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: least is anadjective and LSTanoun. On the page they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33661, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

least is recorded at frequency rank #348, classified as anadj, pronounced /liːst/. LST is at rank #33,313, 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 33661, this pair ranks #327,479 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of least vs LST

Shared letters: lst. Private to "least": ae. Private to "LST": -.

"least" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC  ·  "LST" · 3 letters · shape CCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • leastelast · laest · leasst · leastt · leats · lesat · lleast

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "least" for "LST" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "least" is an adjective and "LST" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "least" vs "LST" - which ranks higher?
"least" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #348 in our English list, against #33,313 for "LST". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Pair "least" vs "LST" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "least" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "LST" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #327,479 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "least" and "LST" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "LSC vs LST". 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 #327,479 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list