vole vs vom, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“vole” and “vom” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#45,158
“vole” frequency rank: #40,961
“vom” frequency rank: 86119
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	vole	vom
Definition	Any of a large number of species of small rodents of the tribes Arvicolini, Ellobiusini, Clethrionomyini, Pliomyini, Phenacomyini and Prometheomyini.	Vomit.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vole and vom apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

vole

3 ch

vom

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. vole (/vəʊl/) and vom (/vɒm/) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 86119, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vole is recorded at frequency rank #45,158, classified as anoun, pronounced /vəʊl/. vom is at rank #40,961, tagged as anoun, pronounced /vɒm/.

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 86119, this pair ranks #9,407 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of vole vs vom

Shared letters: ov. Private to "vole": el. Private to "vom": m.

"vole" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "vom" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

vole ← ovle · vloe · voel · volle · vvole

Frequency comparison

vole#45,158

vom#40,961

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vole" and "vom" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/vəʊl/ versus /vɒm/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "vole" or "vom"?

"vom" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #40,961 in our English list, against #45,158 for "vole". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering vole vs vom

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “vole” entry
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