# tongs vs torus

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### tongs
*noun · IPA /tɒŋz/ · frequency rank #37,257*
An instrument or tool used for picking things up without touching them with the hands or fingers, consisting of two slats or grips hinged at the end or in the middle, and sometimes including a spring to open the grips.

### torus
*noun · IPA /ˈtɔː.ɹəs/ · frequency rank #49,104*
The standard representation of such a space in 3-dimensional Euclidean space: a surface or solid formed by rotating a closed curve, especially a circle, about a line which lies in the same plane but does not intersect it (e.g. like a ring doughnut).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tongs-vs-torus