Which to use
“loading” is a noun and “losing” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,069
- “loading” frequency rank
- #1,487
- “losing” frequency rank
- 7556
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | loading | losing |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The process by which something is loaded. | present participle and gerund of lose |
Where the eye mixes loading and losing
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses loading with losing
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: loading is /ˈləʊ.dɪŋ/ while losing is /ˈluːzɪŋ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7556, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
loading is recorded at frequency rank #6,069, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈləʊ.dɪŋ/. losing is at rank #1,487, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈluːzɪŋ/.
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 7556, this pair ranks #506,614 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of loading vs losing
Shared letters: gilno. Private to "loading": ad. Private to "losing": s.
"loading" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC · "losing" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "loading" for "losing" ever safe?
Frequency check: "loading" vs "losing" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "loading" and "losing" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "loading" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "losing" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #506,614 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "loading" and "losing" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "loading vs loring". 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 #506,614 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.