Which to use
“clerk” and “clock” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,108
- “clerk” frequency rank
- #3,414
- “clock” frequency rank
- 10522
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clerk | clock |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | One who occupationally provides assistance by working with records, accounts, letters, etc.; an office worker. | A chronometer, an instrument that measures time, particularly the time of day. |
Where the eye mixes clerk and clock
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses clerk with clock
A purely visual mix-up. clerk (/klɑːk/) and clock (/klɒk/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10522, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clerk is recorded at frequency rank #7,108, classified as anoun, pronounced /klɑːk/. clock is at rank #3,414, tagged as anoun, pronounced /klɒk/.
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 10522, this pair ranks #491,898 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of clerk vs clock
Shared letters: ckl. Private to "clerk": er. Private to "clock": o.
"clerk" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "clock" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "clerk" and "clock" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "clerk" vs "clock" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "clerk" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clock" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #491,898 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clerk" and "clock" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Cheri vs clerk". 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 #491,898 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.