Which to use
“cates” and “crates” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #48,123
- “cates” frequency rank
- #20,077
- “crates” frequency rank
- 68200
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cates | crates |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Provisions; food; viands; especially, luxurious food; delicacies; dainties. | plural of crate |
Letter map: cates vs crates
Shared letters muted; letters that set cates and crates apart highlighted. Shared run: 5.
Pair insight - cates / crates
cates and crates are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68200, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cates is recorded at frequency rank #48,123, classified as anoun. crates is at rank #20,077, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɹeɪts/.
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 68200, this pair ranks #59,972 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of cates vs crates
Shared letters: acest. Private to "cates": -. Private to "crates": r.
"cates" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "crates" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "cates" and "crates" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "cates" vs "crates" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pair "cates" vs "crates" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "cates" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "crates" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #59,972 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cates" and "crates" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cates vs catty". 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 #59,972 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.