Which to use
“latch” is a verb and “latches” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,605
- “latch” frequency rank
- #46,583
- “latches” frequency rank
- 65188
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | latch | latches |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To close or lock as if with a latch. | plural of latch |
Where the eye mixes latch and latches
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. latch runs 5 letters (CVCCC) against latches's 7 (CVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: latch vs latches
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: latch is /læt͡ʃ/ while latches is /ˈlætʃɪz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “latch” sits inside “latches”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65188, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
latch is recorded at frequency rank #18,605, classified as averb, pronounced /læt͡ʃ/. latches is at rank #46,583, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlætʃɪz/.
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 65188, this pair ranks #74,010 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of latch vs latches
Shared letters: achlt. Private to "latch": -. Private to "latches": es.
"latch" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "latches" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "latch" and "latches" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "latch" vs "latches" - which ranks higher?
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 "latch" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "latches" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #74,010 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "latch" and "latches" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lances vs latches". 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 #74,010 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.