matchvsmatchesConfusable pair

Quick tell: match is a noun, matches is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“match” is a noun and “matches” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#6,219
“match” frequency rank
#17,983
“matches” frequency rank
24202
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature match matches
Definition Match; Wettspiel; Wettkampf 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs match

Letter map: match vs matches

Shared letters muted; letters that set match and matches apart highlighted. Shared run: 5.

5 ch
match
7 ch
matches

Role in the sentence - match and matches

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: match is anoun and matchesaverb. On the page they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “match” sits inside “matches”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24202, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

match is recorded at frequency rank #6,219, classified as anoun, pronounced [matʃ]. matches is at rank #17,983, tagged as averb, pronounced […].

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 24202, this pair ranks #1,850,977 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of match vs matches

Shared letters: achmt. Private to "match": -. Private to "matches": es.

"match" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "matches" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • matchamtch · matcch · matchh · mathc · mattch · mmatch · mtach
  • matchesamtches · macthes · matcches · matcehs · matchess · matchhes · matchse · mathces

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "match" and "matches" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "match" is a noun and "matches" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "match" vs "matches" - which ranks higher?
"match" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,219 in our German list, against #17,983 for "matches". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pair "match" vs "matches" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "match" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "matches" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,850,977 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "match" and "matches" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "matches vs puzzles". 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 #1,850,977 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list