Which to use
“batted” and “busted” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,585
- “batted” frequency rank
- #10,003
- “busted” frequency rank
- 32588
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | batted | busted |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Carrying a bat (the sports equipment, but maybe also the animal). | Having a certain type of bust (breasts; cleavage). |
Where the eye mixes batted and busted
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between batted and busted
A purely visual mix-up. batted (/ˈbætɪd/) and busted (/ˈbʌs.tɪd/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32588, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
batted is recorded at frequency rank #22,585, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈbætɪd/. busted is at rank #10,003, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈbʌs.tɪd/.
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 32588, this pair ranks #336,533 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of batted vs busted
Shared letters: bdet. Private to "batted": a. Private to "busted": su.
"batted" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "busted" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "batted" and "busted" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "batted" or "busted"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "batted" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "busted" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #336,533 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "batted" and "busted" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "batt vs batted". 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 #336,533 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.