Which to use
“blink” is a verb and “blinks” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,655
- “blink” frequency rank
- #38,310
- “blinks” frequency rank
- 48965
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | blink | blinks |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To close and reopen both eyes quickly. | a herbaceous annual plant of species Montia fontana, in the family Montiaceae, formerly included in the purslane family (Portulacaceae). |
Where the eye mixes blink and blinks
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses blink with blinks
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: blink is /blɪŋk/ while blinks is /blɪŋks/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “blink” sits inside “blinks”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48965, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
blink is recorded at frequency rank #10,655, classified as averb, pronounced /blɪŋk/. blinks is at rank #38,310, tagged as anoun, pronounced /blɪŋks/.
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 48965, this pair ranks #188,106 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of blink vs blinks
Shared letters: bikln. Private to "blink": -. Private to "blinks": s.
"blink" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "blinks" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "blink" for "blinks" ever safe?
Frequency check: "blink" vs "blinks" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "blink" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "blinks" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #188,106 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "blink" and "blinks" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "blinks vs bunks". 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 #188,106 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.