Which to use
“label” and “labels” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,436
- “label” frequency rank
- #6,259
- “labels” frequency rank
- 9695
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | label | labels |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A small ticket or sign giving information about something to which it is attached or intended to be attached. | plural of label |
Where the eye mixes label and labels
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: label vs labels
A purely visual mix-up. label (/ˈleɪ.bəl/) and labels (/ˈleɪ.bəlz/) 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 extra letter(s) - “label” sits inside “labels”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9695, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
label is recorded at frequency rank #3,436, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈleɪ.bəl/. labels is at rank #6,259, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈleɪ.bəlz/.
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 9695, this pair ranks #496,088 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of label vs labels
Shared letters: abel. Private to "label": -. Private to "labels": s.
"label" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "labels" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "label" for "labels" ever safe?
Which is more common, "label" or "labels"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "label" and "labels" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "label" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "labels" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #496,088 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "label" and "labels" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "label vs lel". 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 #496,088 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.