Which to use
“lobe” and “lock” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,635
- “lobe” frequency rank
- #2,954
- “lock” frequency rank
- 22589
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lobe | lock |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Any projection or division, especially one of a somewhat rounded form. | Something used for fastening, which can only be opened with a key or combination. |
Where the eye mixes lobe and lock
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. lobe (CVCV) and lock (CVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between lobe and lock
A purely visual mix-up. lobe (/ləʊb/) and lock (/lɒk/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22589, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lobe is recorded at frequency rank #19,635, classified as anoun, pronounced /ləʊb/. lock is at rank #2,954, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɒk/.
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 22589, this pair ranks #415,466 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lobe vs lock
Shared letters: lo. Private to "lobe": be. Private to "lock": ck.
"lobe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "lock" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lobe" and "lock" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "lobe" or "lock" show up more?
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 "lobe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lock" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #415,466 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lobe" and "lock" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lobe vs lope". 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 #415,466 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.