Which to use
“batten” is a verb and “battery” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #39,697
- “batten” frequency rank
- #2,877
- “battery” frequency rank
- 42574
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | batten | battery |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To cause (an animal, etc.) to become fat or thrive through plenteous feeding; to fatten. | A device used to power electric devices, consisting of one or more electrically connected electrochemical cells or (archaically) electrostatic cells. |
Where the eye mixes batten and battery
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses batten with battery
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: batten is /ˈbæt(ə)n/ while battery is /ˈbæt.(ə)ɹi/. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42574, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
batten is recorded at frequency rank #39,697, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈbæt(ə)n/. battery is at rank #2,877, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈbæt.(ə)ɹi/.
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 42574, this pair ranks #247,953 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of batten vs battery
Shared letters: abet. Private to "batten": n. Private to "battery": ry.
"batten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "battery" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "batten" and "battery" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "batten" or "battery" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "batten" and "battery" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "batten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "battery" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #247,953 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "batten" and "battery" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "batt vs batten". 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 #247,953 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.