Which to use
“competes” and “completed” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,756
- “competes” frequency rank
- #1,750
- “completed” frequency rank
- 23506
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | competes | completed |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | third-person singular simple present indicative of compete | simple past and past participle of complete |
Where the eye mixes competes and completed
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: competes vs completed
A purely visual mix-up. competes (/kəmˈpiːts/) and completed (/kəmˈpliːtɪd/) 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 23506, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
competes is recorded at frequency rank #21,756, classified as averb, pronounced /kəmˈpiːts/. completed is at rank #1,750, tagged as averb, pronounced /kəmˈpliːtɪd/.
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 23506, this pair ranks #408,783 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of competes vs completed
Shared letters: cemopt. Private to "competes": s. Private to "completed": dl.
"competes" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "completed" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "competes" and "completed" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "competes" or "completed" 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 "competes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "completed" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #408,783 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "competes" and "completed" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "compels vs competes". 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 #408,783 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.