Which to use
“locket” is a noun and “looked” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,714
- “locket” frequency rank
- #811
- “looked” frequency rank
- 34525
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | locket | looked |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A pendant that opens to reveal a space used for storing a photograph or other small item. | simple past and past participle of look |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set locket and looked apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: locket is /ˈlɒkɪt/ while looked is /lʊkt/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34525, 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/. looked is at rank #811, tagged as averb, pronounced /lʊkt/.
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 34525, this pair ranks #320,067 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of locket vs looked
Shared letters: eklo. Private to "locket": ct. Private to "looked": d.
"locket" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "looked" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "locket" and "looked" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "locket" or "looked"?
Remembering locket vs looked
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “locket”; for a verb, it's “looked”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “locket” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable