lendvslindWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: lend is a verb, lind is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“lend” is a verb and “lind” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#8,057
“lend” frequency rank
#36,225
“lind” frequency rank
44282
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lend lind
Definition To allow to be used by someone temporarily, on condition that it or its equivalent will be returned. The lime tree, or linden tree.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lend and lind apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
lend
4 ch
lind

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

lend and lind form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by a single letter - e in “lend” becomes i in “lind” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44282, 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/. lind is at rank #36,225, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɪnd/.

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 44282, this pair ranks #232,074 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

lend#8,057
lind#36,225

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lend" and "lind" be used interchangeably?
No, "lend" and "lind" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering lend vs lind

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “lend”; for a noun, it's “lind”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lend” 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