Which to use
“at” is a preposition and “axe” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21
- “at” frequency rank
- #9,703
- “axe” frequency rank
- 9724
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | at | axe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | In, near, or in the general vicinity of (a particular place). | A tool for felling trees or chopping wood etc. consisting of a heavy head flattened to a blade on one side, and a handle attached to it. |
Where the eye mixes at and axe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses at with axe
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: at is /æt/ while axe is /æks/. 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 (preposition vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9724, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
at is recorded at frequency rank #21, classified as aprep, pronounced /æt/. axe is at rank #9,703, tagged as anoun, pronounced /æks/.
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 9724, this pair ranks #495,932 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of at vs axe
Shared letters: a. Private to "at": t. Private to "axe": ex.
"at" · 2 letters · shape VC · "axe" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "at" and "axe" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "at" or "axe"?
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 "at" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "axe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #495,932 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "at" and "axe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "amb vs axe". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #495,932 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.