Which to use
“lapses” and “lashes” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,056
- “lapses” frequency rank
- #16,267
- “lashes” frequency rank
- 48323
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lapses | lashes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of lapse | plural of lash |
Where the eye mixes lapses and lashes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between lapses and lashes
A purely visual mix-up. lapses (/ˈlæpsɪz/) and lashes (/ˈlæʃɪz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48323, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lapses is recorded at frequency rank #32,056, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈlæpsɪz/. lashes is at rank #16,267, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlæʃɪz/.
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 48323, this pair ranks #194,154 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lapses vs lashes
Shared letters: aels. Private to "lapses": p. Private to "lashes": h.
"lapses" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "lashes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lapses" and "lashes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "lapses" or "lashes" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "lapses" and "lashes" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lapses" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lashes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #194,154 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lapses" and "lashes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lances vs lapses". 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 #194,154 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.