Which to use
“lend” is a verb and “lid” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,057
- “lend” frequency rank
- #9,491
- “lid” frequency rank
- 17548
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lend | lid |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To allow to be used by someone temporarily, on condition that it or its equivalent will be returned. | The top or cover of a container. |
Where the eye mixes lend and lid
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: lend vs lid
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lend is /lɛnd/ while lid is /lɪd/. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17548, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lend is recorded at frequency rank #8,057, classified as averb, pronounced /lɛnd/. lid is at rank #9,491, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɪd/.
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 17548, this pair ranks #450,705 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lend vs lid
Shared letters: dl. Private to "lend": en. Private to "lid": i.
"lend" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "lid" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- lend ← elnd · ledn · lendd · lennd · llend · lned
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lend" for "lid" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "lend" or "lid" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "lend" and "lid" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lend" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lid" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #450,705 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lend" and "lid" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lid vs LSC". 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 #450,705 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.