Which to use
“list” is a noun and “listed” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #531
- “list” frequency rank
- #2,080
- “listed” frequency rank
- 2611
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | list | listed |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A strip of fabric, especially from the edge of a piece of cloth. | simple past and past participle of list |
Where the eye mixes list and listed
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: list vs listed
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: list is /lɪst/ while listed is /ˈlɪst.ɪd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “list” sits inside “listed”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2611, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
list is recorded at frequency rank #531, classified as anoun, pronounced /lɪst/. listed is at rank #2,080, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈlɪst.ɪd/.
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 2611, this pair ranks #524,531 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of list vs listed
Shared letters: ilst. Private to "list": -. Private to "listed": de.
"list" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "listed" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "list" and "listed" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "list" vs "listed" - 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 "list" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "listed" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #524,531 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "list" and "listed" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "list vs LSC". 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 #524,531 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.