Which to use
“claps” and “cleans” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,180
- “claps” frequency rank
- #21,161
- “cleans” frequency rank
- 54341
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | claps | cleans |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of clap | plural of clean |
Where the eye mixes claps and cleans
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. claps runs 5 letters (CCVCC) against cleans's 6 (CCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: claps vs cleans
A purely visual mix-up. claps (/klæps/) and cleans (/kliːnz/) 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 54341, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
claps is recorded at frequency rank #33,180, classified as anoun, pronounced /klæps/. cleans is at rank #21,161, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kliːnz/.
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 54341, this pair ranks #141,816 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of claps vs cleans
Shared letters: acls. Private to "claps": p. Private to "cleans": en.
"claps" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "cleans" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "claps" for "cleans" ever safe?
Which is more common, "claps" or "cleans"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "claps" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cleans" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #141,816 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "claps" and "cleans" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clack vs claps". 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 #141,816 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.