Which to use
“Cory” is a name and “cost” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,892
- “Cory” frequency rank
- #568
- “cost” frequency rank
- 14460
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Cory | cost |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An English surname from Old Norse, a variant of Corey. | To incur a charge of; to require payment of a (specified) price. |
Where the eye mixes Cory and cost
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Cory vs cost
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Cory is /ˈkɔː.ɹi/ while cost is /ˈkɒst/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14460, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Cory is recorded at frequency rank #13,892, classified as aname, pronounced /ˈkɔː.ɹi/. cost is at rank #568, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈkɒst/.
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 14460, this pair ranks #469,931 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Cory vs cost
Shared letters: co. Private to "Cory": ry. Private to "cost": st.
"Cory" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "cost" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Cory" and "cost" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "Cory" vs "cost" - which ranks higher?
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 "Cory" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cost" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #469,931 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Cory" and "cost" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Cory 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 #469,931 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.