locketvslockupTell them apart

Which to use

“locket” and “lockup” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#33,714
“locket” frequency rank
#49,465
“lockup” frequency rank
83179
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature locket lockup
Definition A pendant that opens to reveal a space used for storing a photograph or other small item. A jail cell; a period of incarceration in such a cell; a facility containing such cells.

Letter map: locket vs lockup

Shared letters muted; letters that set locket and lockup apart highlighted. Shared run: 4.

6 ch
locket
6 ch
lockup

Corpus notes: locket and lockup

locket and lockup are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 83179, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

locket is recorded at frequency rank #33,714, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈlɒkɪt/. lockup is at rank #49,465, 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 83179, this pair ranks #14,306 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of locket vs lockup

Shared letters: cklo. Private to "locket": et. Private to "lockup": pu.

"locket" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "lockup" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • locketlcoket · llocket · loccket · locekt · lockket · lockte · lokcet · olcket
  • lockuplcokup · llockup · locckup · lockkup · lockpu · lockupp · locukp · lokcup

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "locket" for "lockup" ever safe?
No. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Frequency check: "locket" vs "lockup" - which ranks higher?
"locket" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,714 in our English list, against #49,465 for "lockup". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

You've compared "locket" and "lockup". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "locket" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lockup" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #14,306 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "locket" and "lockup" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lockup vs locum". 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 #14,306 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list