Which to use
“lose” is a verb and “lost” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,699
- “lose” frequency rank
- #18,302
- “lost” frequency rank
- 56001
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lose | lost |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de losar. | Cola de animal. |
Where the eye mixes lose and lost
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between lose and lost
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lose is [ˈlose] while lost is /ˈlɔst/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “lose” becomes t in “lost”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56001, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lose is recorded at frequency rank #37,699, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlose]. 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 56001, this pair ranks #76,442 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lose vs lost
Shared letters: los. Private to "lose": e. Private to "lost": t.
"lose" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "lost" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lose" and "lost" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "lose" vs "lost" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "lose" 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 #76,442 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lose" and "lost" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lose vs lotte". 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 #76,442 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.