Which to use
“bishop” and “bishops” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,742
- “bishop” frequency rank
- #9,571
- “bishops” frequency rank
- 13313
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bishop | bishops |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An overseer of congregations: either any such overseer, generally speaking, or (in Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Anglicanism, etc.) an official in the church hierarchy (actively or nominally) governing a diocese, supervising the church's priests, deacons, and property in its territory. | plural of bishop |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bishop and bishops apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
bishop and bishops form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “bishop” sits inside “bishops” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13313, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bishop is recorded at frequency rank #3,742, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈbɪʃəp/. bishops is at rank #9,571, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈbɪʃəps/.
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 13313, this pair ranks #476,542 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "bishop" and "bishops" be used interchangeably?
Remembering bishop vs bishops
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “bishop” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable