bidevsbindsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: bide is a verb, binds is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“bide” is a verb and “binds” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#43,526
“bide” frequency rank
#17,551
“binds” frequency rank
61077
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bide binds
Definition To bear; to endure; to tolerate. plural of bind

Where the eye mixes bide and binds

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
bide
5 ch
binds

Why the eye confuses bide with binds

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bide is /baɪd/ while binds is /baɪndz/. 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 61077, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bide is recorded at frequency rank #43,526, classified as averb, pronounced /baɪd/. binds is at rank #17,551, tagged as anoun, pronounced /baɪndz/.

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 61077, this pair ranks #96,431 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of bide vs binds

Shared letters: bdi. Private to "bide": e. Private to "binds": ns.

"bide" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "binds" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bidebbide · bdie · bidde · bied · ibde
  • bindsbbinds · bidns · bindds · bindss · binnds · binsd · bnids · ibnds

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bide" and "binds" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "bide" is a verb and "binds" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "bide" vs "binds" - which ranks higher?
"binds" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,551 in our English list, against #43,526 for "bide". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "bide" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "binds" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #96,431 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bide" and "binds" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bide vs Bodie". 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 #96,431 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list