Which to use
“loam” and “log” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,031
- “loam” frequency rank
- #3,826
- “log” frequency rank
- 49857
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | loam | log |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A type of soil; an earthy mixture of sand, silt and clay, with organic matter to which its fertility is chiefly due. | The trunk of a dead tree, cleared of branches. |
Where the eye mixes loam and log
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between loam and log
A purely visual mix-up. loam (/ləʊm/) 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 49857, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
loam is recorded at frequency rank #46,031, classified as anoun, pronounced /ləʊm/. 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 49857, this pair ranks #179,636 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of loam vs log
Shared letters: lo. Private to "loam": am. Private to "log": g.
"loam" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "log" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- loam ← laom · lloam · loamm · olam
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "loam" for "log" ever safe?
Frequency check: "loam" vs "log" - 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 "loam" 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 #179,636 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "loam" and "log" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "loam vs lope". 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 #179,636 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.