Which to use
“lockout” and “lockup” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,499
- “lockout” frequency rank
- #49,465
- “lockup” frequency rank
- 73964
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lockout | lockup |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The opposite of a strike; a labor disruption where management refuses to allow workers into a plant to work even if they are willing. | A jail cell; a period of incarceration in such a cell; a facility containing such cells. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lockout and lockup apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
lockout and lockup form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73964, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lockout is recorded at frequency rank #24,499, classified as anoun. 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 73964, this pair ranks #37,867 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lockout" and "lockup" be used interchangeably?
Remembering lockout vs lockup
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lockout” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable