Which to use
“lock” is a noun and “lol” is an intj - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,954
- “lock” frequency rank
- #948
- “lol” frequency rank
- 3902
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lock | lol |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Something used for fastening, which can only be opened with a key or combination. | Alternative form of LOL. |
Where the eye mixes lock and lol
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: lock vs lol
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lock is /lɒk/ while lol is /ɛl.əʊˈɛl/. 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 intj), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3902, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lock is recorded at frequency rank #2,954, classified as anoun, pronounced /lɒk/. lol is at rank #948, tagged as anintj, pronounced /ɛl.əʊˈɛl/.
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 3902, this pair ranks #520,620 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lock vs lol
Shared letters: lo. Private to "lock": ck. Private to "lol": -.
"lock" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "lol" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- lock ← lcok · llock · locck · lockk · lokc · olck
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lock" and "lol" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "lock" or "lol"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "lock" and "lol" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lock" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lol" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #520,620 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lock" and "lol" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lock 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 #520,620 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.