Which to use
“costs” and “cross” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,163
- “costs” frequency rank
- #1,073
- “cross” frequency rank
- 2236
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | costs | cross |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of cost | 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 costs and cross
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. costs (/ˈkɔsts/) and cross (/kɹɒs/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2236, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
costs is recorded at frequency rank #1,163, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɔsts/. 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 2236, this pair ranks #525,499 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of costs vs cross
Shared letters: cos. Private to "costs": t. Private to "cross": r.
"costs" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "cross" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC