lotsvsloxWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“lots” and “lox” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,399
“lots” frequency rank
#44,312
“lox” frequency rank
45711
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lots lox
Definition plural of lot Salmon that is cured in brine and then smoked at a low temperature so that the flesh remains uncooked.

Where the eye mixes lots and lox

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
lots
3 ch
lox

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. lots (/lɑts/) and lox (/lɒks/) 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 45711, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lots is recorded at frequency rank #1,399, classified as anoun, pronounced /lɑts/. 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 45711, this pair ranks #218,668 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lots vs lox

Shared letters: lo. Private to "lots": st. Private to "lox": x.

"lots" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "lox" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lotsllots · lotss · lotts · ltos · olts

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lots" and "lox" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/lɑts/ versus /lɒks/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lots" or "lox"?
"lots" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,399 in our English list, against #44,312 for "lox". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list