Which to use
“last” is an adjective and “lost” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,138
- “last” frequency rank
- #18,302
- “lost” frequency rank
- 33440
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | last | lost |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Último. | Cola de animal. |
Where the eye mixes last and lost
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between last and lost
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: last is /lɑːst/ while lost is /ˈlɔst/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “last” becomes o in “lost”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33440, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
last is recorded at frequency rank #15,138, classified as anadj, pronounced /lɑːst/. lost is at rank #18,302, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlɔst/.
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 33440, this pair ranks #196,798 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of last vs lost
Shared letters: lst. Private to "last": a. Private to "lost": o.
"last" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "lost" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "last" for "lost" ever safe?
Frequency check: "last" vs "lost" - which ranks higher?
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 "last" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lost" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #196,798 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "last" and "lost" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lost vs lotto". 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 #196,798 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.