Which to use
“lances” and “latches” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #48,314
- “lances” frequency rank
- #46,583
- “latches” frequency rank
- 94897
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lances | latches |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of lance | plural of latch |
Where the eye mixes lances and latches
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. lances runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against latches's 7 (CVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: lances vs latches
A purely visual mix-up. lances (/ˈlænsɪz/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 94897, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lances is recorded at frequency rank #48,314, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈlænsɪz/. 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 94897, this pair ranks #1,190 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lances vs latches
Shared letters: acels. Private to "lances": n. Private to "latches": ht.
"lances" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "latches" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lances" and "latches" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "lances" or "latches"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "lances" 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 #1,190 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lances" and "latches" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lances vs Laney". 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 #1,190 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.