Which to use
“Tomes” is a name and “tops” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #46,822
- “Tomes” frequency rank
- #6,425
- “tops” frequency rank
- 53247
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Tomes | tops |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A surname originating as a patronymic. | At the very most; as a maximum. |
Letter map: Tomes vs tops
Shared letters muted; letters that set Tomes and tops apart highlighted. Shared run: 3. Tomes runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against tops's 4 (CVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Grammar separator: Tomes vs tops
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: Tomes is aname and topsanadverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53247, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Tomes is recorded at frequency rank #46,822, classified as aname. tops is at rank #6,425, tagged as anadv, pronounced /tɒps/.
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 53247, this pair ranks #150,557 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Tomes vs tops
Shared letters: ost. Private to "Tomes": em. Private to "tops": p.
"Tomes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "tops" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Tomes" and "tops" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "Tomes" vs "tops" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "Tomes" and "tops".
- Full dictionary entry for "Tomes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tops" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #150,557 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Tomes" and "tops" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Tomes vs torus". 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 #150,557 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.