Which to use
“buttocks” and “buttons” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,769
- “buttocks” frequency rank
- #7,317
- “buttons” frequency rank
- 31086
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | buttocks | buttons |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of buttock. | plural of button |
Where the eye mixes buttocks and buttons
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: buttocks vs buttons
A purely visual mix-up. buttocks (/ˈbʌ.təks/) and buttons (/ˈbʌt.ənz/) 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 31086, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
buttocks is recorded at frequency rank #23,769, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈbʌ.təks/. buttons is at rank #7,317, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈbʌt.ənz/.
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 31086, this pair ranks #349,126 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of buttocks vs buttons
Shared letters: bostu. Private to "buttocks": ck. Private to "buttons": n.
"buttocks" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCC · "buttons" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "buttocks" for "buttons" ever safe?
Frequency check: "buttocks" vs "buttons" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "buttocks" and "buttons" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "buttocks" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "buttons" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #349,126 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "buttocks" and "buttons" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "butting vs buttons". 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 #349,126 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.