Which to use
“lockout” and “lookout” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,499
- “lockout” frequency rank
- #12,806
- “lookout” frequency rank
- 37305
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lockout | lookout |
|---|---|---|
| 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 vantage point with a view of the surrounding area. |
Letter map: lockout vs lookout
Shared letters muted; letters that set lockout and lookout apart highlighted. Shared run: 6.
Pair insight - lockout / lookout
lockout and lookout 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 a single letter - c in “lockout” becomes o in “lookout”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37305, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lockout is recorded at frequency rank #24,499, classified as anoun. lookout is at rank #12,806, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlʊkaʊt/.
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 37305, this pair ranks #295,719 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lockout vs lookout
Shared letters: klotu. Private to "lockout": c. Private to "lookout": -.
"lockout" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC · "lookout" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lockout" for "lookout" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "lockout" or "lookout" show up more?
What to do next
You've compared "lockout" and "lookout". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "lockout" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lookout" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #295,719 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lockout" and "lookout" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lockout vs lockup". 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 #295,719 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.