Which to use
“brake” is a noun and “break” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,655
- “brake” frequency rank
- #670
- “break” frequency rank
- 8325
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | brake | break |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A device used to slow or stop the motion of a wheel, or of a vehicle, usually by friction (although other resistive forces, such as electromagnetic fields or aerodynamic drag, can also be used); also, the controls or apparatus used to engage such a mechanism such as the pedal in a car. | To separate into two or more pieces, to fracture or crack, by a process that cannot easily be reversed for reassembly. |
Same sound, different letters: brake vs break
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 4 letters.
Same sound, different spelling - brake / break
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: brake and break carry the same recorded pronunciation, /bɹeɪk/. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anoun, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They are an anagram pair: the same letters reordered. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8325, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
brake is recorded at frequency rank #7,655, classified as anoun, pronounced /bɹeɪk/. break is at rank #670, tagged as averb, pronounced /bɹeɪk/.
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 8325, this pair ranks #503,074 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of brake vs break
Shared letters: abekr. Private to "brake": -. Private to "break": -.
"brake" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "break" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "brake" and "break" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "brake" or "break" show up more?
What to do next
"brake" and "break" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "brake" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "break" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #503,074 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "brake" and "break" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Braga vs brake". 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 #503,074 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.