Which to use
“pos” is an adjective and “pot” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,268
- “pos” frequency rank
- #3,647
- “pot” frequency rank
- 14915
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pos | pot |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Clipping of positive. | A flat-bottomed vessel (usually metal) used for cooking food, possibly excluding saucepans (see usage notes). |
Where the eye mixes pos and pot
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between pos and pot
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pos is /pɒz/ while pot is /pɒt/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - s in “pos” becomes t in “pot”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14915, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pos is recorded at frequency rank #11,268, classified as anadj, pronounced /pɒz/. pot is at rank #3,647, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pɒt/.
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 14915, this pair ranks #467,171 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pos vs pot
Shared letters: op. Private to "pos": s. Private to "pot": t.
"pos" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "pot" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pos" for "pot" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "pos" or "pot" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "pos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pot" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #467,171 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pos" and "pot" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pos vs PPA". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #467,171 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.