Which to use
“cops” and “cos” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,476
- “cops” frequency rank
- #6,553
- “cos” frequency rank
- 10029
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cops | cos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of cop | Synonym of romaine lettuce, a long-leaved variety of lettuce. |
Where the eye mixes cops and cos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between cops and cos
A purely visual mix-up. cops (/kɒps/) 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 10029, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cops is recorded at frequency rank #3,476, classified as anoun, pronounced /kɒps/. 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 10029, this pair ranks #494,394 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cops vs cos
Shared letters: cos. Private to "cops": p. Private to "cos": -.
"cops" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "cos" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- cops ← ccops · copps · copss · cosp · cpos · ocps
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "cops" and "cos" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "cops" or "cos" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cops" 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 #494,394 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cops" and "cos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "CGT vs cos". 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 #494,394 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.