Which to use
“locus” and “loss” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,026
- “locus” frequency rank
- #907
- “loss” frequency rank
- 23933
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | locus | loss |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A place or locality, especially a centre of activity or the scene of a crime. | The result of no longer possessing an object, a function, or a characteristic due to external causes or misplacement. |
Where the eye mixes locus and loss
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: locus vs loss
A purely visual mix-up. locus (/ˈləʊkəs/) and loss (/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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23933, 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/. loss is at rank #907, 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 23933, this pair ranks #405,728 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of locus vs loss
Shared letters: los. Private to "locus": cu. Private to "loss": -.
"locus" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "loss" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "locus" and "loss" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "locus" or "loss"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "locus" and "loss" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "locus" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "loss" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #405,728 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "locus" and "loss" 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 #405,728 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.