codecvscovetTell them apart

Quick tell: codec is a noun, covet is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“codec” is a noun and “covet” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#43,084
“codec” frequency rank
#36,095
“covet” frequency rank
79179
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature codec covet
Definition A device or program capable of performing transformations on a data stream or signal. To wish for with eagerness; to desire possession of, often enviously.

Letter map: codec vs covet

Shared letters muted; letters that set codec and covet apart highlighted. Shared run: 3. codec and covet follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

5 ch
codec
5 ch
covet

Role in the sentence - codec and covet

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: codec is anoun and covetaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79179, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

codec is recorded at frequency rank #43,084, classified as anoun. covet is at rank #36,095, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈkʌvɪt/.

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 79179, this pair ranks #22,729 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of codec vs covet

Shared letters: ceo. Private to "codec": d. Private to "covet": tv.

"codec" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "covet" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • codec ← ccodec · cdoec · codce · coddec · codecc · coedc · ocdec
  • covet ← ccovet · coevt · covett · covte · covvet · cvoet · ocvet

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "codec" and "covet" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "codec" is a noun and "covet" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "codec" vs "covet" - which ranks higher?
"covet" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,095 in our English list, against #43,084 for "codec". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "codec" and "covet".

  • Full dictionary entry for "codec" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "covet" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #22,729 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "codec" and "covet" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "codec vs cower". 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 #22,729 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