Which to use
“clamps” and “clams” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,400
- “clamps” frequency rank
- #24,408
- “clams” frequency rank
- 51808
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clamps | clams |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of clamp | plural of clam |
Where the eye mixes clamps and clams
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. clamps runs 6 letters (CCVCCC) against clams's 5 (CCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: clamps vs clams
A purely visual mix-up. clamps (/klæmps/) and clams (/klæmz/) 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 51808, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clamps is recorded at frequency rank #27,400, classified as anoun, pronounced /klæmps/. clams is at rank #24,408, tagged as anoun, pronounced /klæmz/.
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 51808, this pair ranks #162,307 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of clamps vs clams
Shared letters: aclms. Private to "clamps": p. Private to "clams": -.
"clamps" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC · "clams" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "clamps" and "clams" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "clamps" or "clams"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "clamps" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clams" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #162,307 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clamps" and "clams" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clamor vs clamps". 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 #162,307 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.