Which to use
“blocking” and “blowing” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,860
- “blocking” frequency rank
- #5,102
- “blowing” frequency rank
- 10962
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | blocking | blowing |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | present participle and gerund of block | present participle and gerund of blow |
Where the eye mixes blocking and blowing
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between blocking and blowing
A purely visual mix-up. blocking (/ˈblɒkɪŋ/) and blowing (/ˈbləʊ.ɪŋ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10962, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
blocking is recorded at frequency rank #5,860, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈblɒkɪŋ/. blowing is at rank #5,102, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈbləʊ.ɪŋ/.
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 10962, this pair ranks #489,601 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of blocking vs blowing
Shared letters: bgilno. Private to "blocking": ck. Private to "blowing": w.
"blocking" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCC · "blowing" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "blocking" for "blowing" ever safe?
Which is more common, "blocking" or "blowing"?
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 "blocking" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "blowing" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #489,601 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "blocking" and "blowing" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "blacking vs blocking". 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 #489,601 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.