listingvslootingWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: listing is a adjective, looting is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“listing” is an adjective and “looting” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,171
“listing” frequency rank
#15,856
“looting” frequency rank
20027
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature listing looting
Definition As listed or shown on a listing. The act of stealing during a crisis such as a war, riot or natural disaster, when law enforcement is ineffective or absent.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set listing and looting apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
listing
7 ch
looting

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: listing is anadjective and lootinganoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20027, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

listing is recorded at frequency rank #4,171, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈlɪstɪŋ/. looting is at rank #15,856, tagged as anoun.

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 20027, this pair ranks #434,028 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of listing vs looting

Shared letters: gilnt. Private to "listing": s. Private to "looting": o.

"listing" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "looting" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • listingilsting · lisitng · lissting · listign · listingg · listinng · listnig · listting
  • lootingllooting · looitng · lootign · lootingg · lootinng · lootnig · lootting · loting

Frequency comparison

listing#4,171
looting#15,856

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "listing" and "looting" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "listing" is an adjective and "looting" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "listing" or "looting"?
"listing" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,171 in our English list, against #15,856 for "looting". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering listing vs looting

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “listing”; for a noun, it's “looting”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “listing” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list