English homophones
root/route
"route" (#2,176 written frequency) beats "root" (#3,583) in this 2-word /ɹuːt/ cluster. Size rank #133 of 1,007 English groups.
Data vintage
Frequency splits the cluster
These 2 spellings keep the same /ɹuːt/ reading, but written frequency splits them hard: "route" leads at #2,176, with "root" trailing at #3,583.
Spelling pairs in this cluster
- Shared stem "ro" then splits - "root" (4 letters) vs "route" (5).
Orthographic DNA of this cluster
Shared letters across root, route: ort. Private letters are the ones only one spelling owns: the eye's fastest tell once sound is out of the picture.
root
4 letters · 2 vowels · shape CVVC
Inventory ort · no private letters vs siblings
route
5 letters · 3 vowels · shape CVVCV
Inventory eortu · private eu
Pick the spelling from the meaning
- Write "root" when you mean: The part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors and supports the plant body, absorbs and stores water and nutrients, and in some…
- Write "route" when you mean: A course or way which is traveled or passed.
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
noun · /ɹuːt/ · #3,583 frequency
The part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors and supports the plant body, absorbs and stores water and nutrients, and in some plants is able to perform vegetative reproduction.
Nearby English homophone groups
What to do next
You've reviewed the 2-spelling cluster (root, route). Here's where to go from here.
- "route" is the most frequent headword in this 2-spelling cluster (rank #2,176 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: rude · rood. Nearby cluster
- Each spelling in "root, route" 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.