Which to use
“ahold” is an adverb and “ahoy” is an intj - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,370
- “ahold” frequency rank
- #40,107
- “ahoy” frequency rank
- 74477
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ahold | ahoy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Brought to lie as near to the windward as it can to get out to sea, and thereby held steady. | Used to hail a ship, a boat or a person, or to attract attention. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ahold and ahoy apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ahold is /əˈhoʊld/ while ahoy is /əˈhɔɪ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs intj), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 74477, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ahold is recorded at frequency rank #34,370, classified as anadv, pronounced /əˈhoʊld/. ahoy is at rank #40,107, tagged as anintj, pronounced /əˈhɔɪ/.
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 74477, this pair ranks #36,236 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ahold vs ahoy
Shared letters: aho. Private to "ahold": dl. Private to "ahoy": y.
"ahold" · 5 letters · shape VCVCC · "ahoy" · 4 letters · shape VCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ahold" and "ahoy" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "ahold" or "ahoy"?
Remembering ahold vs ahoy
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adverb, it's “ahold”; for an intj, it's “ahoy”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ahold” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable