Which to use
“sox” is a noun and “sup” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,101
- “sox” frequency rank
- #13,818
- “sup” frequency rank
- 22919
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sox | sup |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of sock (footwear) | To sip; to take a small amount of food or drink into the mouth, especially with a spoon. |
Where the eye mixes sox and sup
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between sox and sup
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sox is /sɑks/ while sup is /sʌp/. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22919, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sox is recorded at frequency rank #9,101, classified as anoun, pronounced /sɑks/. sup is at rank #13,818, tagged as averb, pronounced /sʌp/.
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 22919, this pair ranks #413,091 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sox vs sup
Shared letters: s. Private to "sox": ox. Private to "sup": pu.
"sox" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "sup" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sox" and "sup" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "sox" vs "sup" - which ranks higher?
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 "sox" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sup" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #413,091 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sox" and "sup" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sup vs sura". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #413,091 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.