Which to use
“list” is a noun and “lost” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #531
- “list” frequency rank
- #400
- “lost” frequency rank
- 931
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | list | lost |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A strip of fabric, especially from the edge of a piece of cloth. | simple past and past participle of lose |
Where the eye mixes list and lost
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses list with lost
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: list is /lɪst/ while lost is /lɒst/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - i in “list” becomes o in “lost”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 931, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
list is recorded at frequency rank #531, classified as anoun, pronounced /lɪst/. 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 931, this pair ranks #528,480 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of list vs lost
Shared letters: lst. Private to "list": i. Private to "lost": o.
"list" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "lost" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "list" and "lost" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "list" vs "lost" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "list" and "lost" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "list" 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 #528,480 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "list" and "lost" 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 #528,480 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.