Which to use
“locks” and “lox” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,810
- “locks” frequency rank
- #44,312
- “lox” frequency rank
- 52122
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | locks | lox |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of lock | Salmon that is cured in brine and then smoked at a low temperature so that the flesh remains uncooked. |
Same sound, different letters: locks vs lox
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 2 letters.
Homophone desk: locks vs lox
This is the hard kind. locks and lox are pronounced identically (/lɒks/) and both work as anoun. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52122, 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/. 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 52122, this pair ranks #159,690 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of locks vs lox
Shared letters: lo. Private to "locks": cks. Private to "lox": x.
"locks" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "lox" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- locks ← lcoks · llocks · loccks · lockks · lockss · locsk · lokcs · olcks
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "locks" for "lox" ever safe?
Frequency check: "locks" vs "lox" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "locks" 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 #159,690 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "locks" 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 #159,690 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.