Which to use
“lace” is a verb and “last” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #41,860
- “lace” frequency rank
- #10,733
- “last” frequency rank
- 52593
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lace | last |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de lacer. | Poids de deux tonneaux de mer ou 2000 kilogrammes. |
Where the eye mixes lace and last
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: lace vs last
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lace is \las\ while last is \last\. 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 52593, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lace is recorded at frequency rank #41,860, classified as averb, pronounced \las\. last is at rank #10,733, tagged as anoun, pronounced \last\.
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 52593, this pair ranks #146,618 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lace vs last
Shared letters: al. Private to "lace": ce. Private to "last": st.
"lace" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "last" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lace" and "last" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "lace" vs "last" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "lace" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "last" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #146,618 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lace" and "last" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lace vs lago". 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 #146,618 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.