Which to use
“allows” is a verb and “alls” is a determiner - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,142
- “allows” frequency rank
- #44,608
- “alls” frequency rank
- 46750
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | allows | alls |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | third-person singular simple present indicative of allow | All. |
Where the eye mixes allows and alls
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses allows with alls
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: allows is /əˈlaʊz/ while alls is /ɔːlz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 46750, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
allows is recorded at frequency rank #2,142, classified as averb, pronounced /əˈlaʊz/. 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 46750, this pair ranks #208,816 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of allows vs alls
Shared letters: als. Private to "allows": ow. Private to "alls": -.
"allows" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC · "alls" · 4 letters · shape VCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "allows" and "alls" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "allows" vs "alls" - 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 "allows" 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 #208,816 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "allows" 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 #208,816 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.