Which to use
“loitering” is a noun and “lowering” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #40,326
- “loitering” frequency rank
- #9,915
- “lowering” frequency rank
- 50241
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | loitering | lowering |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The action of the verb loiter. | present participle and gerund of lower |
Letter map: loitering vs lowering
Shared letters muted; letters that set loitering and lowering apart highlighted. Shared run: 7.
Grammar separator: loitering vs lowering
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: loitering is anoun and loweringaverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50241, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
loitering is recorded at frequency rank #40,326, classified as anoun. lowering is at rank #9,915, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈləʊ.ə.ɹɪŋ/.
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 50241, this pair ranks #176,060 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of loitering vs lowering
Shared letters: egilnor. Private to "loitering": t. Private to "lowering": w.
"loitering" · 9 letters · shape CVVCVCVCC · "lowering" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "loitering" and "lowering" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "loitering" vs "lowering" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pair "loitering" vs "lowering" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "loitering" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lowering" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #176,060 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "loitering" and "lowering" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lettering vs loitering". 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 #176,060 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.