Which to use
“dob” and “does” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,170
- “dob” frequency rank
- #177
- “does” frequency rank
- 44347
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dob | does |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To report a person to someone in authority for a wrongdoing. (For transitive forms see dob in, dob on.) | third-person singular simple present indicative of do |
Where the eye mixes dob and does
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: dob vs does
A purely visual mix-up. dob (/dɑb/) and does (/dəz/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44347, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dob is recorded at frequency rank #44,170, classified as averb, pronounced /dɑb/. does is at rank #177, tagged as averb, pronounced /dəz/.
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 44347, this pair ranks #231,489 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dob vs does
Shared letters: do. Private to "dob": b. Private to "does": es.
"dob" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "does" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- does ← ddoes · deos · doess · odes
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "dob" and "does" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "dob" or "does"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "dob" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "does" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #231,489 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dob" and "does" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dob vs dox". 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 #231,489 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.