Which to use
“aim” is a noun and “at” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,927
- “aim” frequency rank
- #21
- “at” frequency rank
- 2948
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aim | at |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The pointing of a weapon, as a gun, a dart, or an arrow, or object, in the line of direction with the object intended to be struck; the line of fire; the direction of anything, such as a spear, a blow, a discourse, a remark, towards a particular point or object, with a view to strike or affect it. | In, near, or in the general vicinity of (a particular place). |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set aim and at apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
aim and at form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2948, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
aim is recorded at frequency rank #2,927, classified as anoun, pronounced /eɪm/. at is at rank #21, tagged as aprep, pronounced /æt/.
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 2948, this pair ranks #523,565 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "aim" and "at" be used interchangeably?
Remembering aim vs at
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “aim”; for a preposition, it's “at”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “aim” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable