Which to use
“cos” is a noun and “cut” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,553
- “cos” frequency rank
- #569
- “cut” frequency rank
- 7122
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cos | cut |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Synonym of romaine lettuce, a long-leaved variety of lettuce. | To incise, to cut into the surface of something. |
Where the eye mixes cos and cut
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cos with cut
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cos is /kɑs/ while cut is /kʌt/. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7122, 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/. cut is at rank #569, tagged as averb, pronounced /kʌt/.
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 7122, this pair ranks #508,484 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cos vs cut
Shared letters: c. Private to "cos": os. Private to "cut": tu.
"cos" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "cut" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "cos" and "cut" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "cos" or "cut" 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 "cut" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #508,484 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cos" and "cut" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "CGT vs cos". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #508,484 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.