Which to use
“latch” and “launch” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,605
- “latch” frequency rank
- #2,079
- “launch” frequency rank
- 20684
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | latch | launch |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To close or lock as if with a latch. | To throw (a projectile such as a lance, dart or ball); to hurl; to propel with force. |
Where the eye mixes latch and launch
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses latch with launch
A purely visual mix-up. latch (/læt͡ʃ/) and launch (/lɔːnt͡ʃ/) 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 20684, 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/. launch is at rank #2,079, tagged as averb, pronounced /lɔːnt͡ʃ/.
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 20684, this pair ranks #429,425 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of latch vs launch
Shared letters: achl. Private to "latch": t. Private to "launch": nu.
"latch" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "launch" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "latch" and "launch" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "latch" vs "launch" - 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 "launch" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #429,425 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "latch" and "launch" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "latch 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 #429,425 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.