Which to use
“slows” is a verb and “stops” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,491
- “slows” frequency rank
- #3,657
- “stops” frequency rank
- 21148
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | slows | stops |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | third-person singular simple present indicative of slow | plural of stop |
Where the eye mixes slows and stops
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: slows vs stops
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: slows is /slaːz/ while stops is /stɒps/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21148, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
slows is recorded at frequency rank #17,491, classified as averb, pronounced /slaːz/. stops is at rank #3,657, tagged as anoun, pronounced /stɒps/.
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 21148, this pair ranks #426,033 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of slows vs stops
Shared letters: os. Private to "slows": lw. Private to "stops": pt.
"slows" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "stops" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "slows" and "stops" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "slows" or "stops"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "slows" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stops" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #426,033 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "slows" and "stops" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "slaw vs slows". 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 #426,033 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.