Which to use
“mab” and “maul” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #47,175
- “mab” frequency rank
- #32,913
- “maul” frequency rank
- 80088
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mab | maul |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A slattern. | A heavy long-handled hammer, used for splitting logs by driving a wedge into them, or in combat. |
Letter map: mab vs maul
Shared letters muted; letters that set mab and maul apart highlighted. Shared run: 2. mab runs 3 letters (CVC) against maul's 4 (CVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Pair insight - mab / maul
mab and maul are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 80088, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mab is recorded at frequency rank #47,175, classified as anoun. maul is at rank #32,913, tagged as anoun, pronounced /mɔːl/.
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 80088, this pair ranks #20,595 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of mab vs maul
Shared letters: am. Private to "mab": b. Private to "maul": lu.
"mab" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "maul" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- maul ← amul · malu · maull · mmaul · mual
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mab" for "maul" ever safe?
Which is more common, "mab" or "maul"?
After this comparison
You've compared "mab" and "maul". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "mab" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "maul" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #20,595 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mab" and "maul" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mab vs MPAA". 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 #20,595 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.