Which to use
“locus” and “loops” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,026
- “locus” frequency rank
- #12,096
- “loops” frequency rank
- 35122
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | locus | loops |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A place or locality, especially a centre of activity or the scene of a crime. | plural of loop |
Where the eye mixes locus and loops
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: locus vs loops
A purely visual mix-up. locus (/ˈləʊkəs/) and loops (/luːps/) 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 35122, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
locus is recorded at frequency rank #23,026, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈləʊkəs/. loops is at rank #12,096, tagged as anoun, pronounced /luːps/.
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 35122, this pair ranks #314,704 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of locus vs loops
Shared letters: los. Private to "locus": cu. Private to "loops": p.
"locus" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "loops" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "locus" for "loops" ever safe?
Frequency check: "locus" vs "loops" - which ranks higher?
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 "locus" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "loops" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #314,704 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "locus" and "loops" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lockup vs locus". 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 #314,704 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.