Which to use
“boiled” and “build” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,510
- “boiled” frequency rank
- #963
- “build” frequency rank
- 12473
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | boiled | build |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of boil | To form (something) by combining materials or parts. |
Where the eye mixes boiled and build
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses boiled with build
A purely visual mix-up. boiled (/bɔɪld/) and build (/bɪld/) 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 12473, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
boiled is recorded at frequency rank #11,510, classified as averb, pronounced /bɔɪld/. build is at rank #963, tagged as averb, pronounced /bɪld/.
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 12473, this pair ranks #481,366 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of boiled vs build
Shared letters: bdil. Private to "boiled": eo. Private to "build": u.
"boiled" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "build" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "boiled" and "build" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "boiled" or "build"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "boiled" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "build" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #481,366 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "boiled" and "build" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "boiled vs broiler". 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 #481,366 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.