molarvsmollWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#29,384
“molar” frequency rank
#42,278
“moll” frequency rank
71662
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature molar moll
Definition A back tooth having a broad surface used for grinding one's food. A female companion of a gangster or other criminal, especially a former or current prostitute.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set molar and moll apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
molar
4 ch
moll

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. molar (/məʊlə(ɹ)/) and moll (/mɒl/) 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 71662, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

molar is recorded at frequency rank #29,384, classified as anoun, pronounced /məʊlə(ɹ)/. moll is at rank #42,278, tagged as anoun, pronounced /mɒl/.

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 71662, this pair ranks #45,907 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of molar vs moll

Shared letters: lmo. Private to "molar": ar. Private to "moll": -.

"molar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "moll" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • molarmloar · mmolar · moalr · molarr · mollar · molra · omlar
  • mollmlol · mmoll · omll

Frequency comparison

molar#29,384
moll#42,278

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "molar" and "moll" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/məʊlə(ɹ)/ versus /mɒl/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "molar" or "moll"?
"molar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,384 in our English list, against #42,278 for "moll". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering molar vs moll

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 “molar” 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