Which to use
“builder” is a noun and “builds” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,902
- “builder” frequency rank
- #7,656
- “builds” frequency rank
- 16558
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | builder | builds |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | One who builds or constructs things. | third-person singular simple present indicative of build |
Where the eye mixes builder and builds
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses builder with builds
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: builder is /ˈbɪl.də/ while builds is /bɪldz/. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16558, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
builder is recorded at frequency rank #8,902, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈbɪl.də/. builds is at rank #7,656, tagged as averb, pronounced /bɪldz/.
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 16558, this pair ranks #457,003 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of builder vs builds
Shared letters: bdilu. Private to "builder": er. Private to "builds": s.
"builder" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC · "builds" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "builder" and "builds" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "builder" or "builds" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "builder" and "builds" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "builder" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "builds" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #457,003 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "builder" and "builds" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "builder vs buller". 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 #457,003 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.