Which to use
“coat” and “cox” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,867
- “coat” frequency rank
- #7,783
- “cox” frequency rank
- 11650
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | coat | cox |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An outer garment covering the upper torso and arms. | A coxswain of a boat, especially of a racing crew. |
Where the eye mixes coat and cox
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses coat with cox
A purely visual mix-up. coat (/ˈkoʊ̯t/) and cox (/kɒks/) 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 11650, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
coat is recorded at frequency rank #3,867, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkoʊ̯t/. cox is at rank #7,783, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɒks/.
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 11650, this pair ranks #485,882 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of coat vs cox
Shared letters: co. Private to "coat": at. Private to "cox": x.
"coat" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "cox" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- coat ← caot · ccoat · coatt · cota · ocat
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "coat" and "cox" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "coat" or "cox"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "coat" and "cox" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "coat" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cox" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #485,882 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "coat" and "cox" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "CGT vs cox". 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 #485,882 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.