Which to use
“hocus” is a verb and “hos” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #48,804
- “hocus” frequency rank
- #31,601
- “hos” frequency rank
- 80405
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hocus | hos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To play a trick on, to trick (someone); to hoax; to cheat. | plural of ho |
Letter map: hocus vs hos
Shared letters muted; letters that set hocus and hos apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.
Role in the sentence - hocus and hos
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: hocus is averb and hosanoun. On the page they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 80405, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hocus is recorded at frequency rank #48,804, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈhəʊkəs/. hos is at rank #31,601, 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 80405, this pair ranks #19,861 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of hocus vs hos
Shared letters: hos. Private to "hocus": cu. Private to "hos": -.
"hocus" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "hos" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- hocus ← hcous · hhocus · hoccus · hocsu · hocuss · houcs · ohcus
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hocus" and "hos" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "hocus" or "hos"?
What to do next
Pair "hocus" vs "hos" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "hocus" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #19,861 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hocus" and "hos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hocus vs hoss". 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 #19,861 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.