Which to use
“linking” is an adjective and “lurking” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,578
- “linking” frequency rank
- #14,357
- “lurking” frequency rank
- 21935
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | linking | lurking |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Serving to connect other things together. | The act of one who lurks. |
Letter map: linking vs lurking
Shared letters muted; letters that set linking and lurking apart highlighted. Shared run: 5. linking and lurking follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Grammar separator: linking vs lurking
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: linking is anadjective and lurkinganoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21935, 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/. lurking is at rank #14,357, 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 21935, this pair ranks #420,293 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of linking vs lurking
Shared letters: gikln. Private to "linking": -. Private to "lurking": ru.
"linking" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "lurking" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "linking" and "lurking" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "linking" or "lurking"?
After this comparison
You've compared "linking" and "lurking". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "linking" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lurking" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #420,293 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "linking" and "lurking" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "loring vs lurking". 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 #420,293 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.