Which to use
“outlast” is a verb and “outlay” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #36,697
- “outlast” frequency rank
- #35,861
- “outlay” frequency rank
- 72558
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | outlast | outlay |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To live, last or remain longer than. | A laying out or expending; that which is laid out or expended. |
Where the eye mixes outlast and outlay
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. outlast runs 7 letters (VVCCVCC) against outlay's 6 (VVCCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: outlast vs outlay
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: outlast is /ˌaʊtˈlɑːst/ while outlay is /ˈaʊtleɪ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72558, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
outlast is recorded at frequency rank #36,697, classified as averb, pronounced /ˌaʊtˈlɑːst/. outlay is at rank #35,861, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈaʊtleɪ/.
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 72558, this pair ranks #42,619 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of outlast vs outlay
Shared letters: alotu. Private to "outlast": s. Private to "outlay": y.
"outlast" · 7 letters · shape VVCCVCC · "outlay" · 6 letters · shape VVCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "outlast" for "outlay" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "outlast" or "outlay" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "outlast" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "outlay" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #42,619 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "outlast" and "outlay" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "oblast vs outlast". 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 #42,619 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.