Which to use
“clack” and “claws” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,381
- “clack” frequency rank
- #13,683
- “claws” frequency rank
- 60064
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clack | claws |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An abrupt, sharp sound, especially one made by two hard objects colliding repetitively; a sound midway between a click and a clunk. | plural of claw |
Where the eye mixes clack and claws
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses clack with claws
A purely visual mix-up. clack (/klæk/) and claws (/klɔːz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60064, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clack is recorded at frequency rank #46,381, classified as anoun, pronounced /klæk/. claws is at rank #13,683, tagged as anoun, pronounced /klɔːz/.
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 60064, this pair ranks #102,403 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of clack vs claws
Shared letters: acl. Private to "clack": k. Private to "claws": sw.
"clack" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "claws" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "clack" and "claws" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "clack" or "claws" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "clack" and "claws" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "clack" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "claws" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #102,403 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clack" and "claws" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clack vs clink". 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 #102,403 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.