Which to use
“lost” is a verb and “lowest” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #400
- “lost” frequency rank
- #3,569
- “lowest” frequency rank
- 3969
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lost | lowest |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of lose | superlative form of low: most low |
Where the eye mixes lost and lowest
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: lost vs lowest
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lost is /lɒst/ while lowest is /ˈləʊ.ɪst/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3969, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lost is recorded at frequency rank #400, classified as averb, pronounced /lɒst/. lowest is at rank #3,569, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈləʊ.ɪst/.
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 3969, this pair ranks #520,409 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lost vs lowest
Shared letters: lost. Private to "lost": -. Private to "lowest": ew.
"lost" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "lowest" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lost" for "lowest" ever safe?
Which is more common, "lost" or "lowest"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "lost" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lowest" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #520,409 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lost" and "lowest" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lost vs LSC". 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 #520,409 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.