Which to use
“clamps” and “clump” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,400
- “clamps” frequency rank
- #31,110
- “clump” frequency rank
- 58510
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clamps | clump |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of clamp | A cluster or lump; an unshaped piece or mass. |
Where the eye mixes clamps and clump
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. clamps runs 6 letters (CCVCCC) against clump's 5 (CCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: clamps vs clump
A purely visual mix-up. clamps (/klæmps/) and clump (/klʌmp/) 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 58510, 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/. clump is at rank #31,110, tagged as anoun, pronounced /klʌmp/.
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 58510, this pair ranks #112,067 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of clamps vs clump
Shared letters: clmp. Private to "clamps": as. Private to "clump": u.
"clamps" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC · "clump" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "clamps" for "clump" ever safe?
Which is more common, "clamps" or "clump"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "clamps" and "clump" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "clamps" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clump" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #112,067 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clamps" and "clump" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chums vs clump". 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 #112,067 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.