Which to use
“gauss” is a noun and “gross” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #42,902
- “gauss” frequency rank
- #22,579
- “gross” frequency rank
- 65481
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gauss | gross |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ancienne unité de mesure cgs du champ magnétique qui valait 10⁻⁴ tesla, et dont le symbole était Gs. | Variante orthographique de groß. |
Where the eye mixes gauss and gross
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. gauss (CVVCC) and gross (CCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses gauss with gross
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gauss is \ɡos\ while gross is \ɡʀoːs\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65481, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gauss is recorded at frequency rank #42,902, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɡos\. gross is at rank #22,579, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɡʀoːs\.
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 65481, this pair ranks #72,157 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of gauss vs gross
Shared letters: gs. Private to "gauss": au. Private to "gross": or.
"gauss" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "gross" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "gauss" and "gross" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "gauss" or "gross"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "gauss" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gross" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #72,157 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gauss" and "gross" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gaius vs gauss". 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 #72,157 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.