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. |
Letter map: lockout vs lockup
Shared letters muted; letters that set lockout and lockup apart highlighted. Shared run: 5.
Corpus notes: lockout and lockup
lockout 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. 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.
Orthographic DNA of lockout vs lockup
Shared letters: cklou. Private to "lockout": t. Private to "lockup": p.
"lockout" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC · "lockup" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lockout" and "lockup" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "lockout" vs "lockup" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
You've compared "lockout" and "lockup". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "lockout" 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 #37,867 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lockout" 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 #37,867 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.