bondvsboreWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: bond is a noun, bore is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“bond” is a noun and “bore” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,517
“bond” frequency rank
#7,889
“bore” frequency rank
10406
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bond bore
Definition A document constituting evidence of a long-term debt, by which the bond issuer (the borrower) is obliged to pay interest when due, and repay the principal at maturity, as specified on the face of the bond certificate. The rights of the holder are specified in the bond indenture, which contains the legal terms and conditions under which the bond was issued. Bonds are available in two forms: registered bonds, and bearer bonds. To inspire boredom in somebody.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bond and bore apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
bond
4 ch
bore

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

bond and bore form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10406, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bond is recorded at frequency rank #2,517, classified as anoun, pronounced /bɒnd/. bore is at rank #7,889, tagged as averb, pronounced /bɔː(ɹ)/.

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 10406, this pair ranks #492,500 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

bond#2,517
bore#7,889

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bond" and "bore" be used interchangeably?
No, "bond" and "bore" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering bond vs bore

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “bond”; for a verb, it's “bore”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “bond” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list