Which to use
“laces” and “latches” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,812
- “laces” frequency rank
- #46,583
- “latches” frequency rank
- 71395
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | laces | latches |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of lace | plural of latch |
Where the eye mixes laces and latches
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. laces runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against latches's 7 (CVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: laces vs latches
A purely visual mix-up. laces (/ˈleɪ.sɪz/) and latches (/ˈlætʃɪz/) 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 71395, 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/. latches is at rank #46,583, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlætʃɪz/.
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 71395, this pair ranks #46,921 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of laces vs latches
Shared letters: acels. Private to "laces": -. Private to "latches": ht.
"laces" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "latches" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "laces" and "latches" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "laces" vs "latches" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "laces" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "latches" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #46,921 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "laces" and "latches" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lances vs latches". 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 #46,921 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.