Which to use
“ape” is a noun and “at” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,334
- “ape” frequency rank
- #21
- “at” frequency rank
- 15355
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ape | at |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A primate of the superfamily Hominoidea, generally larger than monkeys and distinguished from them by having no tail. | In, near, or in the general vicinity of (a particular place). |
Where the eye mixes ape and at
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses ape with at
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ape is /eɪp/ while at is /æt/. 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 (noun vs preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15355, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ape is recorded at frequency rank #15,334, classified as anoun, pronounced /eɪp/. 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 15355, this pair ranks #464,450 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ape vs at
Shared letters: a. Private to "ape": ep. Private to "at": t.
"ape" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "at" · 2 letters · shape VC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ape" and "at" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "ape" or "at" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ape" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "at" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #464,450 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ape" and "at" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "amb vs ape". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #464,450 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.