Which to use
“locus” and “los” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,026
- “locus” frequency rank
- #1,728
- “los” frequency rank
- 24754
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | locus | los |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A place or locality, especially a centre of activity or the scene of a crime. | A medium-sized wildcat, most of them part of the genus Lynx. |
Where the eye mixes locus and los
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: locus vs los
A purely visual mix-up. locus (/ˈləʊkəs/) and los (/lɒs/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24754, 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/. los is at rank #1,728, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɒs/.
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 24754, this pair ranks #399,567 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of locus vs los
Shared letters: los. Private to "locus": cu. Private to "los": -.
"locus" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "los" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- locus ← lcous · llocus · loccus · locsu · locuss · loucs · olcus
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "locus" for "los" ever safe?
Frequency check: "locus" vs "los" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "locus" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "los" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #399,567 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "locus" and "los" 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 #399,567 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.