lost
/lɒst/
"lost" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“lost” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #400. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #400
- frequency rank, English
- 2,297
- “L” headwords
- 5
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - simple past and past participle of lose
Corpus desk
Index EN-lost · lost · English
lost · rank #400 · 5 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-CORE #400
- LEN-MID 4 letters
- VOW-1 1 vowel
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 5 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,297
- PHOTO-FINISH large
Nearest frequency peer: large (-1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Frequency neighbourhood for “lost”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- history
history
99,604 corpus weight
- known
known
99,603 corpus weight
- large
large
99,602 corpus weight
- lost
lost
99,601 corpus weight
- m
m
99,600 corpus weight
- research
research
99,599 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “lost” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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 | lost |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /lɒst/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #400 |
| Misspellings tracked | 5 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “lost” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 5 spelling variants around lost (IPA /lɒst/), averb. Corpus frequency is #400 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Dominant gloss: "simple past and past participle of lose".
Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for lost, with forms such as "llost", "losst", and "lostt". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Lt", "Ls", "lot", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English loste, losede (preterite) and Middle English lost, ilost, ilosed (past participle), from Old English losode (preterite) and Old English losod, ġelosod, equivalent to lose + -t. The correct English form is lost, spelled L-O-S-T.
Definition
- 1simple past and past participle of lose
Etymology
From Middle English loste, losede (preterite) and Middle English lost, ilost, ilosed (past participle), from Old English losode (preterite) and Old English losod, ġelosod, equivalent to lose + -t.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- llost
- losst
- lostt
- lsot
- olst
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of lost - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "lost"?
What does "lost" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "lost"?
How do you pronounce "lost"?
What is the origin of the word "lost"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "lost", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).
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.