Which to use
“abide” is a verb and “abode” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,084
- “abide” frequency rank
- #24,365
- “abode” frequency rank
- 37449
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abide | abode |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To endure without yielding; to withstand. | Act of waiting; delay. |
Where the eye mixes abide and abode
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses abide with abode
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: abide is /əˈbaɪd/ while abode is /əˈbəʊd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - i in “abide” becomes o in “abode”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37449, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abide is recorded at frequency rank #13,084, classified as averb, pronounced /əˈbaɪd/. abode is at rank #24,365, tagged as anoun, pronounced /əˈbəʊd/.
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 37449, this pair ranks #294,498 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of abide vs abode
Shared letters: abde. Private to "abide": i. Private to "abode": o.
"abide" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "abode" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "abide" and "abode" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "abide" or "abode"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "abide" and "abode" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "abide" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abode" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #294,498 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abide" and "abode" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abides vs abode". 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 #294,498 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.