Which to use
“linking” is an adjective and “locking” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,578
- “linking” frequency rank
- #10,231
- “locking” frequency rank
- 17809
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | linking | locking |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Serving to connect other things together. | gerund of lock: the act by which something is locked. |
Letter map: linking vs locking
Shared letters muted; letters that set linking and locking apart highlighted. Shared run: 5.
Role in the sentence - linking and locking
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: linking is anadjective and lockinganoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17809, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
linking is recorded at frequency rank #7,578, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈlɪŋkɪŋ/. locking is at rank #10,231, 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 17809, this pair ranks #448,978 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of linking vs locking
Shared letters: gikln. Private to "linking": -. Private to "locking": co.
"linking" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "locking" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "linking" for "locking" ever safe?
Which is more common, "linking" or "locking"?
Useful next steps
You've compared "linking" and "locking". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "linking" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "locking" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #448,978 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "linking" and "locking" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "locking vs loring". 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 #448,978 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.