Which to use
“lav” and “lox” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #48,859
- “lav” frequency rank
- #44,312
- “lox” frequency rank
- 93171
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lav | lox |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Clipping of lavatory. | Salmon that is cured in brine and then smoked at a low temperature so that the flesh remains uncooked. |
Where the eye mixes lav and lox
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. lav and lox follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses lav with lox
A purely visual mix-up. lav (/læv/) and lox (/lɒks/) 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 93171, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lav is recorded at frequency rank #48,859, classified as anoun, pronounced /læv/. lox is at rank #44,312, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɒks/.
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 93171, this pair ranks #2,105 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lav vs lox
Shared letters: l. Private to "lav": av. Private to "lox": ox.
"lav" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "lox" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lav" for "lox" ever safe?
Frequency check: "lav" vs "lox" - which ranks higher?
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 "lav" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lox" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,105 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lav" and "lox" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lav vs LSC". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #2,105 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.