Which to use
“coos” is a verb and “cross” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #39,755
- “coos” frequency rank
- #1,073
- “cross” frequency rank
- 40828
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | coos | cross |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | third-person singular simple present indicative of coo | A geometrical figure consisting of two straight lines or bars intersecting each other such that at least one of them is bisected by the other. |
Where the eye mixes coos and cross
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. coos runs 4 letters (CVVC) against cross's 5 (CCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses coos with cross
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: coos is /kuːz/ while cross is /kɹɒs/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40828, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
coos is recorded at frequency rank #39,755, classified as averb, pronounced /kuːz/. cross is at rank #1,073, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɹɒs/.
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 40828, this pair ranks #264,036 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of coos vs cross
Shared letters: cos. Private to "coos": -. Private to "cross": r.
"coos" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "cross" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "coos" for "cross" ever safe?
Which is more common, "coos" or "cross"?
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 "coos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cross" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #264,036 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "coos" and "cross" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "coms vs coos". 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 #264,036 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.