Which to use
“archive” is a noun and “archives” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,311
- “archive” frequency rank
- #6,022
- “archives” frequency rank
- 13333
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | archive | archives |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A place for storing earlier, and often historical, material. An archive usually contains documents (letters, records, newspapers, etc.) or other types of media kept for historical interest. | third-person singular simple present indicative of archive |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set archive and archives apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: archive is anoun and archivesaverb. On the page they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “archive” sits inside “archives”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13333, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
archive is recorded at frequency rank #7,311, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈɑːkaɪv/. archives is at rank #6,022, tagged as averb.
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 13333, this pair ranks #476,409 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of archive vs archives
Shared letters: acehirv. Private to "archive": -. Private to "archives": s.
"archive" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCV · "archives" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "archive" and "archives" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "archive" or "archives"?
Remembering archive vs archives
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “archive”; for a verb, it's “archives”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “archive” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable