Which to use
“taboo” and “taboos” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,715
- “taboo” frequency rank
- #36,775
- “taboos” frequency rank
- 52490
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | taboo | taboos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An inhibition or ban that results from social custom or emotional aversion. | plural of taboo |
Where the eye mixes taboo and taboos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses taboo with taboos
A purely visual mix-up. taboo (/təˈbuː/) and taboos (/təˈbuːz/) 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 extra letter(s) - “taboo” sits inside “taboos”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52490, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
taboo is recorded at frequency rank #15,715, classified as anoun, pronounced /təˈbuː/. taboos is at rank #36,775, tagged as anoun, pronounced /təˈbuːz/.
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 52490, this pair ranks #156,581 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of taboo vs taboos
Shared letters: abot. Private to "taboo": -. Private to "taboos": s.
"taboo" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "taboos" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "taboo" and "taboos" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "taboo" or "taboos" show up more?
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 "taboo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "taboos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #156,581 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "taboo" and "taboos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "taboos vs Taos". 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 #156,581 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.