Which to use
“chimes” and “chisel” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,720
- “chimes” frequency rank
- #30,363
- “chisel” frequency rank
- 57083
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chimes | chisel |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of chime | A cutting tool used to remove parts of stone, wood or metal by pushing or pounding the back when the sharp edge is against the material. It consists of a slim, oblong block of metal with a sharp wedge or bevel formed on one end and sometimes a handle at the other end; there are hand tool versions (the original type) and versions as bits for power tools. |
Where the eye mixes chimes and chisel
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses chimes with chisel
A purely visual mix-up. chimes (/t͡ʃaɪmz/) and chisel (/ˈt͡ʃɪzəl/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57083, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
chimes is recorded at frequency rank #26,720, classified as anoun, pronounced /t͡ʃaɪmz/. chisel is at rank #30,363, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈt͡ʃɪzəl/.
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 57083, this pair ranks #121,737 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of chimes vs chisel
Shared letters: cehis. Private to "chimes": m. Private to "chisel": l.
"chimes" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "chisel" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "chimes" and "chisel" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "chimes" vs "chisel" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "chimes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "chisel" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #121,737 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chimes" and "chisel" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chisel vs chives". 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 #121,737 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.