Which to use
“aeroplane” and “aeroplanes” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,882
- “aeroplane” frequency rank
- #37,790
- “aeroplanes” frequency rank
- 60672
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aeroplane | aeroplanes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Synonym of airplane. A powered heavier-than-air aircraft with fixed wings. | plural of aeroplane |
Where the eye mixes aeroplane and aeroplanes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses aeroplane with aeroplanes
A purely visual mix-up. aeroplane ([ˈɛə̯.ɹə.pleɪ̯n]) and aeroplanes (/ˈeə.ɹə.pleɪnz/) 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 extra letter(s) - “aeroplane” sits inside “aeroplanes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60672, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
aeroplane is recorded at frequency rank #22,882, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛə̯.ɹə.pleɪ̯n]. aeroplanes is at rank #37,790, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈeə.ɹə.pleɪnz/.
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 60672, this pair ranks #98,818 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of aeroplane vs aeroplanes
Shared letters: aelnopr. Private to "aeroplane": -. Private to "aeroplanes": s.
"aeroplane" · 9 letters · shape VVCVCCVCV · "aeroplanes" · 10 letters · shape VVCVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- aeroplane ← aeorplane · aerolpane · aeropalne · aeroplaen · aeroplanne · aeropllane · aeroplnae · aeropplane
- aeroplanes ← aeorplanes · aerolpanes · aeropalnes · aeroplaens · aeroplaness · aeroplannes · aeroplanse · aeropllanes
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "aeroplane" for "aeroplanes" ever safe?
Frequency check: "aeroplane" vs "aeroplanes" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "aeroplane" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aeroplanes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #98,818 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aeroplane" and "aeroplanes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aeroplane vs airplane". 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 #98,818 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.