Which to use
“add” and “axed” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #840
- “add” frequency rank
- #36,045
- “axed” frequency rank
- 36885
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | add | axed |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To join or unite (e.g. one thing to another, or as several particulars) so as to increase the number, augment the quantity, or enlarge the magnitude, or so as to form into one aggregate. | simple past and past participle of ax (all etymologies and senses) |
Where the eye mixes add and axed
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between add and axed
A purely visual mix-up. add (/æd/) and axed (/ækst/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36885, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
add is recorded at frequency rank #840, classified as averb, pronounced /æd/. axed is at rank #36,045, tagged as averb, pronounced /ækst/.
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 36885, this pair ranks #299,306 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of add vs axed
Shared letters: ad. Private to "add": -. Private to "axed": ex.
"add" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "axed" · 4 letters · shape VCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- axed ← aexd · axde · axedd · axxed · xaed
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "add" and "axed" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "add" vs "axed" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "add" and "axed" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "add" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "axed" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #299,306 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "add" and "axed" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ake vs axed". 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 #299,306 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.