Which to use
“cite” and “cited” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,666
- “cite” frequency rank
- #4,357
- “cited” frequency rank
- 16023
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cite | cited |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To quote; to repeat, as a passage from a book, or the words of another. | simple past and past participle of cite |
Where the eye mixes cite and cited
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cite with cited
A purely visual mix-up. cite (/saɪt/) and cited (/ˈsaɪtɪd/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “cite” sits inside “cited”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16023, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cite is recorded at frequency rank #11,666, classified as averb, pronounced /saɪt/. cited is at rank #4,357, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈsaɪtɪd/.
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 16023, this pair ranks #460,391 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cite vs cited
Shared letters: ceit. Private to "cite": -. Private to "cited": d.
"cite" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "cited" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cite" for "cited" ever safe?
Which is more common, "cite" or "cited"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cite" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cited" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #460,391 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cite" and "cited" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "CGT vs cite". 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 #460,391 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.