vom vs vow, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#40,961
“vom” frequency rank: #13,836
“vow” frequency rank: 54797
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	vom	vow
Definition	Vomit.	A solemn promise to perform some act, or behave in a specified manner, especially a promise to live and act in accordance with the rules of a religious order.

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch

vom

3 ch

vow

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. vom (/vɒm/) and vow (/vaʊ/) 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 a single letter - m in “vom” becomes w in “vow”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54797, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vom is recorded at frequency rank #40,961, classified as anoun, pronounced /vɒm/. vow is at rank #13,836, tagged as anoun, pronounced /vaʊ/.

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 54797, this pair ranks #138,403 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vom vs vow

Shared letters: ov. Private to "vom": m. Private to "vow": w.

"vom" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "vow" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

vom#40,961

vow#13,836

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

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

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

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

"vow" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,836 in our English list, against #40,961 for "vom". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering vom vs vow

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 “vom” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable