Which to use
“lash” and “laugh” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,657
- “lash” frequency rank
- #2,214
- “laugh” frequency rank
- 19871
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lash | laugh |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The thong or braided cord of a whip, with which the blow is given. | An expression of mirth particular to the human species; the sound heard in laughing; laughter. |
Where the eye mixes lash and laugh
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses lash with laugh
A purely visual mix-up. lash (/læʃ/) and laugh (/lɐːf/) 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 19871, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lash is recorded at frequency rank #17,657, classified as anoun, pronounced /læʃ/. laugh is at rank #2,214, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɐːf/.
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 19871, this pair ranks #435,137 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lash vs laugh
Shared letters: ahl. Private to "lash": s. Private to "laugh": gu.
"lash" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "laugh" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lash" and "laugh" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "lash" vs "laugh" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "lash" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "laugh" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #435,137 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lash" and "laugh" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lash 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 #435,137 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.