clamsvscomsConfusable pair

Which to use

“clams” and “coms” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#24,408
“clams” frequency rank
#48,668
“coms” frequency rank
73076
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature clams coms
Definition plural of clam Combinations (underwear).

Letter map: clams vs coms

Shared letters muted; letters that set clams and coms apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.

5 ch
clams
4 ch
coms

Corpus notes: clams and coms

clams and coms are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73076, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

clams is recorded at frequency rank #24,408, classified as anoun, pronounced /klæmz/. coms is at rank #48,668, tagged as anoun.

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 73076, this pair ranks #40,816 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of clams vs coms

Shared letters: cms. Private to "clams": al. Private to "coms": o.

"clams" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "coms" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • clamscalms · cclams · clamms · clamss · clasm · cllams · clmas · lcams
  • comsccoms · comms · comss · cosm · ocms

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "clams" and "coms" be used interchangeably?
No. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
In ordinary English text, does "clams" or "coms" show up more?
"clams" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,408 in our English list, against #48,668 for "coms". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

You've compared "clams" and "coms". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "clams" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "coms" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #40,816 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "clams" and "coms" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cami vs coms". 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 #40,816 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list