dockvsdoxWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“dock” and “dox” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#7,218
“dock” frequency rank
#49,882
“dox” frequency rank
57100
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dock dox
Definition Any of the genus Rumex of coarse weedy plants with small green flowers related to buckwheat, especially bitter dock (Rumex obtusifolius), and used as potherbs and in folk medicine, especially in curing nettle rash. plural of doc

Letter map: dock vs dox

Shared letters muted; letters that set dock and dox apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.

4 ch
dock
3 ch
dox

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

dock and dox are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57100, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dock is recorded at frequency rank #7,218, classified as anoun, pronounced /dɒk/. dox is at rank #49,882, tagged as anoun.

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 57100, this pair ranks #121,615 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of dock vs dox

Shared letters: do. Private to "dock": ck. Private to "dox": x.

"dock" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "dox" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dockdcok · ddock · docck · dockk · dokc · odck

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dock" and "dox" be used interchangeably?
No. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "dock" or "dox"?
"dock" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,218 in our English list, against #49,882 for "dox". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list