Which to use
“locks” and “loos” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,810
- “locks” frequency rank
- #37,546
- “loos” frequency rank
- 45356
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | locks | loos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of lock | plural of loo |
Where the eye mixes locks and loos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: locks vs loos
A purely visual mix-up. locks (/lɒks/) and loos (/luːz/) 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 45356, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
locks is recorded at frequency rank #7,810, classified as anoun, pronounced /lɒks/. loos is at rank #37,546, tagged as anoun, pronounced /luːz/.
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 45356, this pair ranks #222,011 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of locks vs loos
Shared letters: los. Private to "locks": ck. Private to "loos": -.
"locks" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "loos" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "locks" for "loos" ever safe?
Which is more common, "locks" or "loos"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "locks" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "loos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #222,011 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "locks" and "loos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "loos 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 #222,011 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.