Which to use
“baited” and “bates” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,814
- “baited” frequency rank
- #12,189
- “bates” frequency rank
- 50003
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | baited | bates |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of bait | third-person singular simple present indicative of bate |
Where the eye mixes baited and bates
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between baited and bates
A purely visual mix-up. baited (/ˈbeɪtɪd/) and bates (/beɪts/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50003, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
baited is recorded at frequency rank #37,814, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈbeɪtɪd/. bates is at rank #12,189, tagged as averb, pronounced /beɪts/.
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 50003, this pair ranks #178,245 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of baited vs bates
Shared letters: abet. Private to "baited": di. Private to "bates": s.
"baited" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "bates" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "baited" for "bates" ever safe?
Frequency check: "baited" vs "bates" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "baited" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bates" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #178,245 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "baited" and "bates" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "baited vs butted". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #178,245 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.