Which to use
“locker” and “locks” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,711
- “locker” frequency rank
- #7,810
- “locks” frequency rank
- 15521
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | locker | locks |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A type of storage compartment with a lock, usually used to store personal possessions for public use, such as in schools, railway stations, place of work, gyms, sports centers. | plural of lock |
Where the eye mixes locker and locks
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: locker vs locks
A purely visual mix-up. locker (/ˈlɒk.ə(ɹ)/) and locks (/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 15521, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
locker is recorded at frequency rank #7,711, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈlɒk.ə(ɹ)/. locks is at rank #7,810, 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 15521, this pair ranks #463,468 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of locker vs locks
Shared letters: cklo. Private to "locker": er. Private to "locks": s.
"locker" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "locks" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "locker" and "locks" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "locker" or "locks"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "locker" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "locks" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #463,468 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "locker" and "locks" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "locks vs lockup". 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 #463,468 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.