Which to use
“poll” and “poo” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,969
- “poll” frequency rank
- #14,190
- “poo” frequency rank
- 18159
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | poll | poo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A survey of people, usually statistically analyzed to gauge wider public opinion. | Alternative spelling of pooh: an instance of saying "poo". |
Where the eye mixes poll and poo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses poll with poo
A purely visual mix-up. poll (/pɔl/) and poo (/puː/) 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 18159, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
poll is recorded at frequency rank #3,969, classified as anoun, pronounced /pɔl/. poo is at rank #14,190, tagged as anoun, pronounced /puː/.
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 18159, this pair ranks #446,763 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of poll vs poo
Shared letters: op. Private to "poll": l. Private to "poo": -.
"poll" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "poo" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- poll ← opll · plol · ppoll
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "poll" for "poo" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "poll" or "poo" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "poll" and "poo" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "poll" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "poo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #446,763 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "poll" and "poo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "poo vs PPA". 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 #446,763 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.