Which to use
“laps” and “law” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,910
- “laps” frequency rank
- #329
- “law” frequency rank
- 12239
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | laps | law |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of lap | The body of binding rules and regulations, customs, and standards established in a community by its legislative and judicial authorities. |
Where the eye mixes laps and law
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses laps with law
A purely visual mix-up. laps (/læps/) and law (/lɔː/) 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 12239, 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/. law is at rank #329, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɔː/.
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 12239, this pair ranks #482,692 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of laps vs law
Shared letters: al. Private to "laps": ps. Private to "law": w.
"laps" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "law" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- laps ← lapps · lapss · lasp · llaps · lpas
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "laps" for "law" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "laps" or "law" show up more?
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 "laps" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "law" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #482,692 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "laps" and "law" 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 #482,692 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.