Which to use
“block” is a noun and “blocked” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,386
- “block” frequency rank
- #4,214
- “blocked” frequency rank
- 5600
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | block | blocked |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A substantial, often approximately cuboid, piece of any substance. | Obstructed, so that through movement or flow is prevented or impeded. |
Where the eye mixes block and blocked
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between block and blocked
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: block is /blɒk/ while blocked is /blɑkt/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “block” sits inside “blocked”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5600, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
block is recorded at frequency rank #1,386, classified as anoun, pronounced /blɒk/. blocked is at rank #4,214, tagged as anadj, pronounced /blɑkt/.
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 5600, this pair ranks #514,682 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of block vs blocked
Shared letters: bcklo. Private to "block": -. Private to "blocked": de.
"block" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "blocked" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "block" and "blocked" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "block" or "blocked" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "block" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "blocked" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #514,682 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "block" and "blocked" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "blanked vs blocked". 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 #514,682 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.