Which to use
“laps” and “las” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,910
- “laps” frequency rank
- #4,463
- “las” frequency rank
- 16373
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | laps | las |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of lap | plural of la |
Where the eye mixes laps and las
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between laps and las
A purely visual mix-up. laps (/læps/) and las (/lɑːz/) 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 16373, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
laps is recorded at frequency rank #11,910, classified as anoun, pronounced /læps/. las is at rank #4,463, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɑːz/.
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 16373, this pair ranks #458,157 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of laps vs las
Shared letters: als. Private to "laps": p. Private to "las": -.
"laps" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "las" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- laps ← lapps · lapss · lasp · llaps · lpas
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "laps" and "las" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "laps" vs "las" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "laps" and "las" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "laps" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "las" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #458,157 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "laps" and "las" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "laps vs lope". 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 #458,157 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.