Which to use
“lox” and “lynx” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,312
- “lox” frequency rank
- #26,871
- “lynx” frequency rank
- 71183
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lox | lynx |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Salmon that is cured in brine and then smoked at a low temperature so that the flesh remains uncooked. | Any of several medium-sized wild cats of the genus Lynx. |
Where the eye mixes lox and lynx
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. lox runs 3 letters (CVC) against lynx's 4 (CVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses lox with lynx
A purely visual mix-up. lox (/lɒks/) and lynx (/lɪŋks/) 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 71183, 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/. lynx is at rank #26,871, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɪŋks/.
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 71183, this pair ranks #47,692 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lox vs lynx
Shared letters: lx. Private to "lox": o. Private to "lynx": ny.
"lox" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "lynx" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- lynx ← llynx · lnyx · lynnx · lynxx · lyxn · lyynx · ylnx
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lox" for "lynx" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "lox" or "lynx" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "lox" and "lynx" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lox" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lynx" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #47,692 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lox" and "lynx" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lox vs LSC". 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 #47,692 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.