lb vs lox, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“lb” and “lox” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#7,936
“lb” frequency rank: #44,312
“lox” frequency rank: 52248
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	lb	lox
Definition	Abbreviation of pound (“unit of weight”).	Salmon that is cured in brine and then smoked at a low temperature so that the flesh remains uncooked.

Where the eye mixes lb and lox

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

2 ch

3 ch

lox

Look-alike desk: lb vs lox

A purely visual mix-up. lb (/paʊnd/) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52248, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lb is recorded at frequency rank #7,936, classified as anoun, pronounced /paʊnd/. 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 52248, this pair ranks #158,642 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lb vs lox

Shared letters: l. Private to "lb": b. Private to "lox": ox.

"lb" · 2 letters · shape CC · "lox" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "lb" for "lox" ever safe?

No. They are said differently (/paʊnd/ versus /lɒks/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "lb" or "lox"?

"lb" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,936 in our English list, against #44,312 for "lox". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "lb" 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 #158,642 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
"lb" and "lox" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lox vs LSC". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #158,642 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.