Which to use
“laps” and “lax” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,910
- “laps” frequency rank
- #14,157
- “lax” frequency rank
- 26067
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | laps | lax |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of lap | A salmon. |
Where the eye mixes laps and lax
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: laps vs lax
A purely visual mix-up. laps (/læps/) and lax (/læks/) 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 26067, 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/. lax is at rank #14,157, tagged as anoun, pronounced /læks/.
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 26067, this pair ranks #389,460 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of laps vs lax
Shared letters: al. Private to "laps": ps. Private to "lax": x.
"laps" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "lax" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- laps ← lapps · lapss · lasp · llaps · lpas
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "laps" and "lax" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "laps" or "lax"?
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 "laps" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lax" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #389,460 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "laps" and "lax" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lax vs LSC". 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 #389,460 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.