Which to use
“outlast” is a verb and “outpost” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #36,697
- “outlast” frequency rank
- #17,434
- “outpost” frequency rank
- 54131
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | outlast | outpost |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To live, last or remain longer than. | A military post stationed at a distance from the main body of troops. |
Where the eye mixes outlast and outpost
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. outlast and outpost follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VVCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses outlast with outpost
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: outlast is /ˌaʊtˈlɑːst/ while outpost is /ˈaʊtˌpoʊst/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54131, 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/. outpost is at rank #17,434, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈaʊtˌpoʊst/.
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 54131, this pair ranks #143,442 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of outlast vs outpost
Shared letters: ostu. Private to "outlast": al. Private to "outpost": p.
"outlast" · 7 letters · shape VVCCVCC · "outpost" · 7 letters · shape VVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "outlast" for "outpost" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "outlast" or "outpost" show up more?
After this comparison
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 "outpost" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #143,442 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "outlast" and "outpost" 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 #143,442 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.