Which to use
“combination” and “combinations” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,432
- “combination” frequency rank
- #9,150
- “combinations” frequency rank
- 11582
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | combination | combinations |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The act of combining, the state of being combined or the result of combining. | plural of combination |
Where the eye mixes combination and combinations
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: combination vs combinations
A purely visual mix-up. combination (/ˌkɒmbɪˈneɪʃən/) and combinations (/kɑmbɪˈneɪʃənz/) 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) - “combination” sits inside “combinations”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11582, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
combination is recorded at frequency rank #2,432, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˌkɒmbɪˈneɪʃən/. combinations is at rank #9,150, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɑmbɪˈneɪʃənz/.
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 11582, this pair ranks #486,264 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of combination vs combinations
Shared letters: abcimnot. Private to "combination": -. Private to "combinations": s.
"combination" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVVC · "combinations" · 12 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- combination ← ccombination · cmobination · cobmination · combbination · combiantion · combinaiton · combinasion · combinatino
- combinations ← ccombinations · cmobinations · cobminations · combbinations · combiantions · combinaitons · combinatinos · combinationns
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "combination" for "combinations" ever safe?
Which is more common, "combination" or "combinations"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "combination" and "combinations" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "combination" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "combinations" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #486,264 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "combination" and "combinations" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "combination vs compilation". 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 #486,264 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.