Which to use
“competes” and “completes” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,756
- “competes” frequency rank
- #14,494
- “completes” frequency rank
- 36250
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | competes | completes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | third-person singular simple present indicative of compete | third-person singular simple present indicative of complete |
Where the eye mixes competes and completes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between competes and completes
A purely visual mix-up. competes (/kəmˈpiːts/) and completes (/kəmˈpliːts/) 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 36250, 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/. completes is at rank #14,494, tagged as averb, pronounced /kəmˈpliːts/.
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 36250, this pair ranks #304,766 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of competes vs completes
Shared letters: cemopst. Private to "competes": -. Private to "completes": l.
"competes" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "completes" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "competes" and "completes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "competes" or "completes"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "competes" and "completes" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "competes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "completes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #304,766 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "competes" and "completes" 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 #304,766 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.