Which to use
“chest” is a noun and “cost” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,883
- “chest” frequency rank
- #568
- “cost” frequency rank
- 3451
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chest | cost |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A box, now usually a large strong box with a secure convex lid. | To incur a charge of; to require payment of a (specified) price. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set chest and cost apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
chest and cost form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3451, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
chest is recorded at frequency rank #2,883, classified as anoun, pronounced /t͡ʃɛst/. cost is at rank #568, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈkɒst/.
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 3451, this pair ranks #522,065 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "chest" and "cost" be used interchangeably?
Remembering chest vs cost
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “chest”; for a verb, it's “cost”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “chest” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable