Which to use
“cloths” and “cloves” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,705
- “cloths” frequency rank
- #26,373
- “cloves” frequency rank
- 52078
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cloths | cloves |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of cloth | plural of clove |
Where the eye mixes cloths and cloves
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. cloths (CCVCCC) and cloves (CCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses cloths with cloves
A purely visual mix-up. cloths (/klɒθs/) and cloves (/kləʊvz/) 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 52078, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cloths is recorded at frequency rank #25,705, classified as anoun, pronounced /klɒθs/. cloves is at rank #26,373, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kləʊvz/.
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 52078, this pair ranks #160,022 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cloths vs cloves
Shared letters: clos. Private to "cloths": ht. Private to "cloves": ev.
"cloths" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC · "cloves" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "cloths" and "cloves" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "cloths" or "cloves"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cloths" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cloves" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #160,022 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cloths" and "cloves" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cleve vs cloves". 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 #160,022 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.