Which to use
“lambs” and “laps” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,561
- “lambs” frequency rank
- #11,910
- “laps” frequency rank
- 33471
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lambs | laps |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of lamb | plural of lap |
Where the eye mixes lambs and laps
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses lambs with laps
A purely visual mix-up. lambs (/læmz/) and laps (/læps/) 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 33471, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lambs is recorded at frequency rank #21,561, classified as anoun, pronounced /læmz/. laps is at rank #11,910, tagged as anoun, pronounced /læps/.
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 33471, this pair ranks #329,159 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lambs vs laps
Shared letters: als. Private to "lambs": bm. Private to "laps": p.
"lambs" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "laps" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lambs" for "laps" ever safe?
Which is more common, "lambs" or "laps"?
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 "lambs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "laps" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #329,159 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lambs" and "laps" 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 #329,159 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.