letsvslotWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“lets” and “lot” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,952
“lets” frequency rank
#219
“lot” frequency rank
3171
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lets lot
Definition plural of let A large quantity or number; a great deal.

Where the eye mixes lets and lot

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
lets
3 ch
lot

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. lets (/lɛts/) and lot (/lɒt/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3171, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lets is recorded at frequency rank #2,952, classified as anoun, pronounced /lɛts/. lot is at rank #219, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɒt/.

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 3171, this pair ranks #522,891 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of lets vs lot

Shared letters: lt. Private to "lets": es. Private to "lot": o.

"lets" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "lot" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • letselts · letss · letts · llets · ltes

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lets" and "lot" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/lɛts/ versus /lɒt/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lets" or "lot"?
"lot" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #219 in our English list, against #2,952 for "lets". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list