hodvshosConfusable pair

Quick tell: hod is a verb, hos is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“hod” is a verb and “hos” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#49,395
“hod” frequency rank
#31,601
“hos” frequency rank
80996
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hod hos
Definition To bob up and down on horseback, as an inexperienced rider may do; to jog. plural of ho

Letter map: hod vs hos

Shared letters muted; letters that set hod and hos apart highlighted. Shared run: 2. hod and hos follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

3 ch
hod
3 ch
hos

Grammar separator: hod vs hos

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: hod is averb and hosanoun. On the page they differ by a single letter - d in “hod” becomes s in “hos”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 80996, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hod is recorded at frequency rank #49,395, classified as averb, pronounced /hɒd/. 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 80996, this pair ranks #18,651 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of hod vs hos

Shared letters: ho. Private to "hod": d. Private to "hos": s.

"hod" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "hos" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "hod" and "hos" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "hod" is a verb and "hos" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "hod" or "hos"?
"hos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,601 in our English list, against #49,395 for "hod". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "hod" and "hos". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "hod" 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 #18,651 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "hod" and "hos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hod vs hoke". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #18,651 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list