Which to use
“blocked” is an adjective and “blocks” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,214
- “blocked” frequency rank
- #3,410
- “blocks” frequency rank
- 7624
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | blocked | blocks |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Obstructed, so that through movement or flow is prevented or impeded. | plural of block |
Where the eye mixes blocked and blocks
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between blocked and blocks
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: blocked is /blɑkt/ while blocks is /blɑks/. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7624, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
blocked is recorded at frequency rank #4,214, classified as anadj, pronounced /blɑkt/. blocks is at rank #3,410, tagged as anoun, pronounced /blɑks/.
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 7624, this pair ranks #506,314 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of blocked vs blocks
Shared letters: bcklo. Private to "blocked": de. Private to "blocks": s.
"blocked" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "blocks" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "blocked" for "blocks" ever safe?
Frequency check: "blocked" vs "blocks" - which ranks higher?
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 "blocked" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "blocks" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #506,314 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "blocked" and "blocks" 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 #506,314 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.