cops

/kɒps/

//kɒps// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"cops" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cops” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,476. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,476
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - plural of cop

Corpus desk

Index EN-cops · cops · English

cops · rank #3,476 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,476
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH comic

Nearest frequency peer: comic (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “cops”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “cops” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

cops vs cs
50% similar
cops vs cp
50% similar
cops vs cup
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for cops
PropertyValue
Headwordcops
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kɒps/
Letters4
Frequency rank#3,476
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “cops”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).copslands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “comic” (#3,475), “cuts” (#3,477), “ceremony” (#3,474). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cops” is #3,476. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around cops (IPA /kɒps/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #3,476 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for cops, with forms such as "ccops", "copps", and "copss". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "cs", "cp", "cup", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is cops, spelled C-O-P-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    plural of cop
  2. 2
    The police, considered as a group entity.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how cops appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. "Maybe he'll git the cops after you, Jack." "I'll watch out fer dat, Nick, an' you must watch out too," answered Jack Sagger.
  2. I saw them leaving,” he says, and he stops / “One of us had better call up the cops” / And so Patty calls the cops / And they arrive on the scene

This word in other languages

vaches(Français)Bullen(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccops
  • copps
  • copss
  • cosp
  • cpos
  • ocps

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cops - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ccops1copps1copss1cosp2cpos2ocps2
Edit distance from "cops"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cops"?
"cops" is spelled C-O-P-S. The IPA pronunciation is /kɒps/.
What does "cops" mean?
As a noun, "cops" means: plural of cop
What words are commonly confused with "cops"?
"cops" is commonly confused with "cs", "cp", "cup". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cops"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cops" is /kɒps/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "cops" come from?
"cops" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "cops", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

cuts#3,477belt#3,471wire#3,460Jane#3,503

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

sexy6 variantsskill6 variantsdesk6 variantssuck6 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list