Which to use
“lint” and “lynx” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,346
- “lint” frequency rank
- #26,871
- “lynx” frequency rank
- 56217
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lint | lynx |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Clinging fuzzy fluff that clings to fabric or accumulates in one's pockets or navel etc. | Any of several medium-sized wild cats of the genus Lynx. |
Where the eye mixes lint and lynx
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. lint and lynx follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between lint and lynx
A purely visual mix-up. lint (/lɪnt/) and lynx (/lɪŋks/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56217, 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/. lynx is at rank #26,871, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɪŋks/.
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 56217, this pair ranks #127,865 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lint vs lynx
Shared letters: ln. Private to "lint": it. Private to "lynx": xy.
"lint" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "lynx" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lint" for "lynx" ever safe?
Which is more common, "lint" or "lynx"?
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 "lynx" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #127,865 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lint" and "lynx" 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 #127,865 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.