# cater vs cower

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### cater
*verb · IPA /ˈkeɪtə/ · frequency rank #13,880*
To provide, particularly

### cower
*verb · IPA /ˈkaʊɚ/ · frequency rank #49,846*
To crouch or cringe, or to avoid or shy away from something, in fear.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-09-03.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cater-vs-cower