Which to use
“center” is a noun and “centred” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #649
- “center” frequency rank
- #14,915
- “centred” frequency rank
- 15564
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | center | centred |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The point in the interior of a circle that is equidistant from all points on the circumference. | simple past and past participle of centre |
Where the eye mixes center and centred
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses center with centred
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: center is /ˈsɛn.tə(ɹ)/ while centred is /ˈsɛn.təd/. 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 15564, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
center is recorded at frequency rank #649, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈsɛn.tə(ɹ)/. centred is at rank #14,915, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈsɛn.təd/.
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 15564, this pair ranks #463,205 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of center vs centred
Shared letters: cenrt. Private to "center": -. Private to "centred": d.
"center" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "centred" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "center" and "centred" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "center" or "centred"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "center" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "centred" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #463,205 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "center" and "centred" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "canter vs center". 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 #463,205 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.