Which to use
“compete” and “complete” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,678
- “compete” frequency rank
- #825
- “complete” frequency rank
- 4503
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | compete | complete |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To be in battle or in a rivalry with another for the same thing, position, or reward; to contend. | To finish; to make done; to reach the end. |
Where the eye mixes compete and complete
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: compete vs complete
A purely visual mix-up. compete (/kəmˈpiːt/) and complete (/kəmˈpliːt/) 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 4503, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
compete is recorded at frequency rank #3,678, classified as averb, pronounced /kəmˈpiːt/. complete is at rank #825, tagged as averb, pronounced /kəmˈpliːt/.
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 4503, this pair ranks #518,705 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of compete vs complete
Shared letters: cemopt. Private to "compete": -. Private to "complete": l.
"compete" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "complete" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "compete" and "complete" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "compete" or "complete" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "compete" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "complete" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #518,705 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "compete" and "complete" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cometh vs compete". 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 #518,705 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.