Which to use
“allow” is a verb and “alls” is a determiner - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,039
- “allow” frequency rank
- #44,608
- “alls” frequency rank
- 45647
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | allow | alls |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To let one have as a suitable share of something. | All. |
Where the eye mixes allow and alls
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between allow and alls
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: allow is /əˈlaʊ/ while alls is /ɔːlz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs determiner), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45647, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
allow is recorded at frequency rank #1,039, classified as averb, pronounced /əˈlaʊ/. alls is at rank #44,608, tagged as adet, pronounced /ɔːlz/.
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 45647, this pair ranks #219,260 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of allow vs alls
Shared letters: al. Private to "allow": ow. Private to "alls": s.
"allow" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "alls" · 4 letters · shape VCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "allow" and "alls" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "allow" vs "alls" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "allow" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "alls" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #219,260 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "allow" and "alls" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "algo vs alls". 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 #219,260 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.