legsvslogWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,163
“legs” frequency rank
#3,826
“log” frequency rank
5989
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature legs log
Definition plural of leg The trunk of a dead tree, cleared of branches.

Where the eye mixes legs and log

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
legs
3 ch
log

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. legs (/lɛɡz/) and log (/lɒɡ/) 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 5989, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

legs is recorded at frequency rank #2,163, classified as anoun, pronounced /lɛɡz/. log is at rank #3,826, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɒɡ/.

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 5989, this pair ranks #513,232 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of legs vs log

Shared letters: gl. Private to "legs": es. Private to "log": o.

"legs" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "log" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • legselgs · leggs · legss · lesg · lges · llegs

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "legs" and "log" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/lɛɡz/ versus /lɒɡ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "legs" or "log"?
"legs" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,163 in our English list, against #3,826 for "log". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "legs" and "log". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "legs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "log" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #513,232 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "legs" and "log" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "log 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list