English homophones
throes/throws
"throws" (#6,303 written frequency) beats "throes" (#37,734) in this 2-word /θɹəʊz/ cluster. Size rank #133 of 1,007 English groups.
Data vintage
Frequency splits the cluster
These 2 spellings keep the same /θɹəʊz/ reading, but written frequency splits them hard: "throws" leads at #6,303, with "throes" trailing at #37,734.
Spelling pairs in this cluster
- Shared stem "thro" then splits - "throes" (6 letters) vs "throws" (6).
Orthographic DNA of this cluster
Shared letters across throes, throws: horst. Private letters are the ones only one spelling owns: the eye's fastest tell once sound is out of the picture.
throes
6 letters · 2 vowels · shape CCCVVC
Inventory ehorst · private e
throws
6 letters · 1 vowels · shape CCCVCC
Inventory horstw · private w
Pick the spelling from the meaning
- Write "throes" when you mean: plural of throe
- Write "throws" when you mean: plural of throw
Known mistypes of these spellings
Edit-distance variants recorded against this cluster: useful when a search or OCR feed lands on the wrong form.
Each spelling
Nearby English homophone groups
What to do next
You've reviewed the 2-spelling cluster (throes, throws). Here's where to go from here.
- "throws" is the most frequent headword in this 2-spelling cluster (rank #6,303 in English). Full entry
- Among English homophone groups, a cluster of 2 spellings ranks #133 by size (1,007 groups in this vintage). Corpus statistics
- Explore a nearby 2-spelling cluster: their · they're. Nearby cluster
- Each spelling in "throes, throws" has its own headword page with definition, IPA, and misspelling variants. First entry
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.