Which to use
“load” and “lox” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,587
- “load” frequency rank
- #44,312
- “lox” frequency rank
- 46899
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | load | lox |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A burden; a weight to be carried. | Salmon that is cured in brine and then smoked at a low temperature so that the flesh remains uncooked. |
Where the eye mixes load and lox
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between load and lox
A purely visual mix-up. load (/loʊd/) 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 46899, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
load is recorded at frequency rank #2,587, classified as anoun, pronounced /loʊd/. 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 46899, this pair ranks #207,428 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of load vs lox
Shared letters: lo. Private to "load": ad. Private to "lox": x.
"load" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "lox" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- load ← laod · lload · loadd · loda · olad
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "load" and "lox" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "load" vs "lox" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "load" 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 #207,428 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "load" and "lox" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lox 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
Confusion rank #207,428 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.