poovspoopsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#14,190
“poo” frequency rank
#48,978
“poops” frequency rank
63168
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature poo poops
Definition Alternative spelling of pooh: an instance of saying "poo". plural of poop

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
poo
5 ch
poops

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. poo (/puː/) and poops (/puːps/) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “poo” sits inside “poops”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63168, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

poo is recorded at frequency rank #14,190, classified as anoun, pronounced /puː/. poops is at rank #48,978, tagged as anoun, pronounced /puːps/.

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 63168, this pair ranks #84,497 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of poo vs poops

Shared letters: op. Private to "poo": -. Private to "poops": s.

"poo" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "poops" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • poopsopops · poopps · poopss · poosp · popos · ppoops

Frequency comparison

poo#14,190
poops#48,978

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "poo" and "poops" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/puː/ versus /puːps/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "poo" or "poops"?
"poo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,190 in our English list, against #48,978 for "poops". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering poo vs poops

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 “poo” 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