Which to use
“backs” and “balk” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,025
- “backs” frequency rank
- #40,576
- “balk” frequency rank
- 46601
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | backs | balk |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of back | An uncultivated ridge formed in the open field system, caused by the action of ploughing. |
Where the eye mixes backs and balk
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between backs and balk
A purely visual mix-up. backs (/bæks/) and balk (/bɔːk/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46601, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
backs is recorded at frequency rank #6,025, classified as anoun, pronounced /bæks/. balk is at rank #40,576, tagged as anoun, pronounced /bɔːk/.
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 46601, this pair ranks #210,216 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of backs vs balk
Shared letters: abk. Private to "backs": cs. Private to "balk": l.
"backs" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "balk" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "backs" for "balk" ever safe?
Frequency check: "backs" vs "balk" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "backs" and "balk" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "backs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "balk" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #210,216 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "backs" and "balk" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bails vs balk". 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 #210,216 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.