Which to use
“lint” is a noun and “lost” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #29,346
- “lint” frequency rank
- #400
- “lost” frequency rank
- 29746
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lint | lost |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Clinging fuzzy fluff that clings to fabric or accumulates in one's pockets or navel etc. | simple past and past participle of lose |
Where the eye mixes lint and lost
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses lint with lost
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lint is /lɪnt/ while lost is /lɒst/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29746, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lint is recorded at frequency rank #29,346, classified as anoun, pronounced /lɪnt/. lost is at rank #400, tagged as averb, pronounced /lɒst/.
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 29746, this pair ranks #360,405 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lint vs lost
Shared letters: lt. Private to "lint": in. Private to "lost": os.
"lint" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "lost" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lint" and "lost" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "lint" vs "lost" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "lint" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lost" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #360,405 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lint" and "lost" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "LIF vs lint". 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 #360,405 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.