Which to use
“locks” and “lotus” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,810
- “locks” frequency rank
- #12,633
- “lotus” frequency rank
- 20443
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | locks | lotus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of lock | A kind of aquatic plant, genus Nelumbo in the family Nelumbonaceae. |
Where the eye mixes locks and lotus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: locks vs lotus
A purely visual mix-up. locks (/lɒks/) and lotus (/ˈloʊtəs/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20443, 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/. lotus is at rank #12,633, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈloʊtəs/.
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 20443, this pair ranks #431,055 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of locks vs lotus
Shared letters: los. Private to "locks": ck. Private to "lotus": tu.
"locks" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "lotus" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "locks" and "lotus" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "locks" or "lotus"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "locks" and "lotus" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "locks" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lotus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #431,055 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "locks" and "lotus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "locum vs lotus". 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 #431,055 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.