Which to use
“hoses” and “hostess” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,312
- “hoses” frequency rank
- #18,338
- “hostess” frequency rank
- 47650
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hoses | hostess |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of hose | A female host. |
Where the eye mixes hoses and hostess
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: hoses vs hostess
A purely visual mix-up. hoses (/ˈhəʊzɪz/) and hostess (/ˈhoʊstɪs/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47650, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hoses is recorded at frequency rank #29,312, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈhəʊzɪz/. hostess is at rank #18,338, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈhoʊstɪs/.
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 47650, this pair ranks #200,459 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hoses vs hostess
Shared letters: ehos. Private to "hoses": -. Private to "hostess": t.
"hoses" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "hostess" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "hoses" for "hostess" ever safe?
Which is more common, "hoses" or "hostess"?
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 "hoses" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hostess" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #200,459 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hoses" and "hostess" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hoke vs hoses". 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 #200,459 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.