Which to use
“lam” is a verb and “lambs” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,266
- “lam” frequency rank
- #21,561
- “lambs” frequency rank
- 37827
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lam | lambs |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To beat or thrash. | plural of lamb |
Where the eye mixes lam and lambs
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses lam with lambs
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lam is /læm/ while lambs is /læmz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “lam” sits inside “lambs”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37827, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lam is recorded at frequency rank #16,266, classified as averb, pronounced /læm/. lambs is at rank #21,561, tagged as anoun, pronounced /læmz/.
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 37827, this pair ranks #291,146 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lam vs lambs
Shared letters: alm. Private to "lam": -. Private to "lambs": bs.
"lam" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "lambs" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- lambs ← almbs · labms · lambbs · lambss · lammbs · lamsb · llambs · lmabs
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lam" and "lambs" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "lam" vs "lambs" - 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 "lam" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lambs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #291,146 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lam" and "lambs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lambo vs lambs". 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 #291,146 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.