Which to use
“laces” and “lapses” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,812
- “laces” frequency rank
- #32,056
- “lapses” frequency rank
- 56868
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | laces | lapses |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of lace | plural of lapse |
Where the eye mixes laces and lapses
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses laces with lapses
A purely visual mix-up. laces (/ˈleɪ.sɪz/) and lapses (/ˈlæpsɪz/) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56868, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
laces is recorded at frequency rank #24,812, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈleɪ.sɪz/. lapses is at rank #32,056, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlæpsɪz/.
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 56868, this pair ranks #123,188 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of laces vs lapses
Shared letters: aels. Private to "laces": c. Private to "lapses": p.
"laces" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "lapses" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "laces" for "lapses" ever safe?
Frequency check: "laces" vs "lapses" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "laces" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lapses" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #123,188 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "laces" and "lapses" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lances vs lapses". 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 #123,188 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.