Which to use
“cater” is a verb and “cats” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,880
- “cater” frequency rank
- #3,215
- “cats” frequency rank
- 17095
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cater | cats |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To provide, particularly | plural of cat |
Where the eye mixes cater and cats
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: cater vs cats
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cater is /ˈkeɪtə/ while cats is /kæts/. 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 17095, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cater is recorded at frequency rank #13,880, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈkeɪtə/. cats is at rank #3,215, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kæts/.
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 17095, this pair ranks #453,664 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cater vs cats
Shared letters: act. Private to "cater": er. Private to "cats": s.
"cater" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "cats" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cater" and "cats" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "cater" or "cats" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cater" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cats" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #453,664 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cater" and "cats" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cater vs cower". 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 #453,664 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.