Which to use
“cull” is a verb and “cults” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #30,384
- “cull” frequency rank
- #23,798
- “cults” frequency rank
- 54182
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cull | cults |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To pick or take someone or something (from a larger group). | plural of cult |
Where the eye mixes cull and cults
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. cull runs 4 letters (CVCC) against cults's 5 (CVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: cull vs cults
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cull is /kʌl/ while cults is /kʌlts/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54182, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cull is recorded at frequency rank #30,384, classified as averb, pronounced /kʌl/. cults is at rank #23,798, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kʌlts/.
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 54182, this pair ranks #143,067 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cull vs cults
Shared letters: clu. Private to "cull": -. Private to "cults": st.
"cull" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "cults" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cull" and "cults" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "cull" or "cults" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cull" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cults" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #143,067 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cull" and "cults" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cull 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 #143,067 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.