Which to use
“cask” and “cos” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,208
- “cask” frequency rank
- #6,553
- “cos” frequency rank
- 35761
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cask | cos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A large barrel for the storage of liquid, especially of alcoholic drinks. (See a diagram of cask sizes.) | Synonym of romaine lettuce, a long-leaved variety of lettuce. |
Where the eye mixes cask and cos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: cask vs cos
A purely visual mix-up. cask (/kɑːsk/) and cos (/kɑs/) 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 35761, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cask is recorded at frequency rank #29,208, classified as anoun, pronounced /kɑːsk/. cos is at rank #6,553, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɑs/.
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 35761, this pair ranks #309,151 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cask vs cos
Shared letters: cs. Private to "cask": ak. Private to "cos": o.
"cask" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "cos" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- cask ← acsk · caks · caskk · cassk · ccask · csak
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "cask" and "cos" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "cask" or "cos"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cask" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #309,151 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cask" and "cos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cask vs CSX". 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 #309,151 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.