# banter vs bates

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### banter
*noun · IPA /ˈbæntə/ · frequency rank #15,344*
Sharp, good-humoured, playful, typically spontaneous conversation.

### bates
*verb · IPA /beɪts/ · frequency rank #12,189*
third-person singular simple present indicative of bate

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/banter-vs-bates