loxvsluxeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#44,312
“lox” frequency rank
#29,359
“luxe” frequency rank
73671
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lox luxe
Definition Salmon that is cured in brine and then smoked at a low temperature so that the flesh remains uncooked. Luxury.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lox and luxe apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
lox
4 ch
luxe

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. lox (/lɒks/) and luxe (/luks/) 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 73671, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lox is recorded at frequency rank #44,312, classified as anoun, pronounced /lɒks/. luxe is at rank #29,359, tagged as anoun, pronounced /luks/.

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 73671, this pair ranks #38,823 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of lox vs luxe

Shared letters: lx. Private to "lox": o. Private to "luxe": eu.

"lox" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "luxe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • luxelluxe · luex · luxxe · lxue · ulxe

Frequency comparison

lox#44,312
luxe#29,359

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lox" and "luxe" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/lɒks/ versus /luks/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lox" or "luxe"?
"luxe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,359 in our English list, against #44,312 for "lox". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering lox vs luxe

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lox” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list