Which to use
“list” and “lot” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #531
- “list” frequency rank
- #219
- “lot” frequency rank
- 750
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | list | lot |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A strip of fabric, especially from the edge of a piece of cloth. | A large quantity or number; a great deal. |
Where the eye mixes list and lot
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. list (/lɪst/) and lot (/lɒt/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 750, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
list is recorded at frequency rank #531, classified as anoun, pronounced /lɪst/. lot is at rank #219, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɒt/.
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 750, this pair ranks #528,865 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of list vs lot
Shared letters: lt. Private to "list": is. Private to "lot": o.
"list" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "lot" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- list ← ilst · lisst · listt · lits · llist · lsit