clustersvsclutterWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“clusters” and “clutter” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#11,519
“clusters” frequency rank
#22,038
“clutter” frequency rank
33557
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature clusters clutter
Definition plural of cluster A confused disordered jumble of things.

Where the eye mixes clusters and clutter

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
clusters
7 ch
clutter

Look-alike desk: clusters vs clutter

A purely visual mix-up. clusters (/ˈklʌstɚz/) and clutter (/ˈklʌtə(ɹ)/) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33557, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

clusters is recorded at frequency rank #11,519, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈklʌstɚz/. clutter is at rank #22,038, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈklʌtə(ɹ)/.

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 33557, this pair ranks #328,376 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of clusters vs clutter

Shared letters: celrtu. Private to "clusters": s. Private to "clutter": -.

"clusters" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCC  ·  "clutter" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • clusterscclusters · cllusters · clsuters · clusetrs · clussters · clusterrs · clusterss · clustesr
  • cluttercclutter · cllutter · cltuter · cluter · clutetr · clutterr · cluttre · cultter

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "clusters" and "clutter" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/ˈklʌstɚz/ versus /ˈklʌtə(ɹ)/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "clusters" or "clutter"?
"clusters" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,519 in our English list, against #22,038 for "clutter". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "clusters" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "clutter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #328,376 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "clusters" and "clutter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clatter vs clutter". 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 #328,376 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list