Which to use
“cast” is a verb and “costs” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,686
- “cast” frequency rank
- #1,163
- “costs” frequency rank
- 2849
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cast | costs |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To move, or be moved, away. | plural of cost |
Where the eye mixes cast and costs
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cast is /kɑːst/ while costs is /ˈkɔsts/. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2849, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cast is recorded at frequency rank #1,686, classified as averb, pronounced /kɑːst/. costs is at rank #1,163, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɔsts/.
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 2849, this pair ranks #523,859 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cast vs costs
Shared letters: cst. Private to "cast": a. Private to "costs": o.
"cast" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "costs" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC