last
/lɑːst/
"last" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“last” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #141 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #141
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 5
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Final, ultimate, coming after all others of its kind.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | last |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /lɑːst/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #141 |
| Misspellings tracked | 5 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “last” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for last is 4 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /lɑːst/. Corpus data places it at rank #141 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for last, with forms such as "alst", "lasst", and "lastt". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Lt", "Ls", "lot", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English laste, latst, syncopated variant of latest. The correct English form is last, spelled L-A-S-T.
Definition
- 1Final, ultimate, coming after all others of its kind.
- 2Most recent, latest, last so far.
- 3Farthest of all from a given quality, character, or condition; most unlikely, or least preferable.
- 4Being the only one remaining of its class.
- 5Supreme; highest in degree; utmost.
- 6Lowest in rank or degree.
Etymology
From Middle English laste, latst, syncopated variant of latest.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: alst,lasst,lastt,lats,llast
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of last - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “last”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is L-A-S-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /lɑːst/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Lt” - see the side-by-side comparison. last vs Lt
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.