Which to use
“cos” and “cox” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,553
- “cos” frequency rank
- #7,783
- “cox” frequency rank
- 14336
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cos | cox |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Synonym of romaine lettuce, a long-leaved variety of lettuce. | A coxswain of a boat, especially of a racing crew. |
Where the eye mixes cos and cox
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cos with cox
A purely visual mix-up. cos (/kɑs/) and cox (/kɒks/) 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 a single letter - s in “cos” becomes x in “cox”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14336, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cos is recorded at frequency rank #6,553, classified as anoun, pronounced /kɑs/. cox is at rank #7,783, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɒks/.
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 14336, this pair ranks #470,653 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cos vs cox
Shared letters: co. Private to "cos": s. Private to "cox": x.
"cos" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "cox" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cos" and "cox" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "cos" or "cox" 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 "cos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cox" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #470,653 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cos" and "cox" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "CGT vs cox". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #470,653 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.