Which to use
“clamps” and “clays” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,400
- “clamps” frequency rank
- #37,382
- “clays” frequency rank
- 64782
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clamps | clays |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of clamp | plural of clay |
Where the eye mixes clamps and clays
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: clamps vs clays
A purely visual mix-up. clamps (/klæmps/) and clays (/kleɪz/) 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 64782, 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/. clays is at rank #37,382, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kleɪz/.
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 64782, this pair ranks #76,002 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of clamps vs clays
Shared letters: acls. Private to "clamps": mp. Private to "clays": y.
"clamps" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC · "clays" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "clamps" and "clays" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "clamps" vs "clays" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
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 "clays" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #76,002 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clamps" and "clays" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clack vs clays". 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 #76,002 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.