Which to use
“cons” and “cos” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,183
- “cons” frequency rank
- #6,553
- “cos” frequency rank
- 16736
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cons | cos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A data structure in Lisp that is a pair of pointers, car and cdr, used mainly for lists. | Synonym of romaine lettuce, a long-leaved variety of lettuce. |
Where the eye mixes cons and cos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cons with cos
A purely visual mix-up. cons (/ˈkɑnz/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16736, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cons is recorded at frequency rank #10,183, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɑnz/. 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 16736, this pair ranks #455,878 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cons vs cos
Shared letters: cos. Private to "cons": n. Private to "cos": -.
"cons" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "cos" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- cons ← ccons · cnos · conns · conss · cosn · ocns
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cons" for "cos" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "cons" or "cos" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "cons" and "cos" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "cons" 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 #455,878 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cons" and "cos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cons vs cuny". 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 #455,878 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.