Which to use
“cocks” and “cos” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,780
- “cocks” frequency rank
- #6,553
- “cos” frequency rank
- 22333
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cocks | cos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of cock | Synonym of romaine lettuce, a long-leaved variety of lettuce. |
Where the eye mixes cocks and cos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cocks with cos
A purely visual mix-up. cocks (/kɒks/) and cos (/kɑs/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22333, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cocks is recorded at frequency rank #15,780, classified as anoun, pronounced /kɒks/. cos is at rank #6,553, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɑs/.
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 22333, this pair ranks #417,348 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cocks vs cos
Shared letters: cos. Private to "cocks": k. Private to "cos": -.
"cocks" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "cos" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- cocks ← ccocks · ccoks · coccks · cockks · cockss · cocsk · cokcs · occks
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cocks" and "cos" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "cocks" vs "cos" - 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 "cocks" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #417,348 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cocks" and "cos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cocks 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 #417,348 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.