English homophones
billed/build
"build" (#963 written frequency) beats "billed" (#13,103) in this 2-word /bɪld/ cluster. Size rank #133 of 1,007 English groups.
Data vintage
Frequency splits the cluster
These 2 spellings keep the same /bɪld/ reading, but written frequency splits them hard: "build" leads at #963, with "billed" trailing at #13,103.
Spelling pairs in this cluster
- No shared spelling stem: "billed" is 6 letters, "build" is 5; only the sound ties them.
Orthographic DNA of this cluster
Shared letters across billed, build: bdil. Private letters are the ones only one spelling owns: the eye's fastest tell once sound is out of the picture.
billed
6 letters · 2 vowels · shape CVCCVC
Inventory bdeil · private e
build
5 letters · 2 vowels · shape CVVCC
Inventory bdilu · private u
Pick the spelling from the meaning
- Write "billed" when you mean: simple past and past participle of bill
- Write "build" when you mean: To form (something) by combining materials or parts.
Known mistypes of these spellings
Edit-distance variants recorded against this cluster: useful when a search or OCR feed lands on the wrong form.
Each spelling
Nearby English homophone groups
What to do next
You've reviewed the 2-spelling cluster (billed, build). Here's where to go from here.
- "build" is the most frequent headword in this 2-spelling cluster (rank #963 in English). Full entry
- Among English homophone groups, a cluster of 2 spellings ranks #133 by size (1,007 groups in this vintage). Corpus statistics
- Explore a nearby 2-spelling cluster: buys · bis. Nearby cluster
- Each spelling in "billed, build" has its own headword page with definition, IPA, and misspelling variants. First entry
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.