Which to use
“lint” is a noun and “lying” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #29,346
- “lint” frequency rank
- #2,164
- “lying” frequency rank
- 31510
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lint | lying |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Clinging fuzzy fluff that clings to fabric or accumulates in one's pockets or navel etc. | present participle and gerund of lie (“to rest in a horizontal position”) |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lint and lying apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
lint and lying 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 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31510, 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/. lying is at rank #2,164, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈlaɪ.ɪŋ/.
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 31510, this pair ranks #345,500 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lint" and "lying" be used interchangeably?
Remembering lint vs lying
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “lint”; for a verb, it's “lying”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lint” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable