Which to use
“connecting” is a verb and “connections” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,486
- “connecting” frequency rank
- #4,147
- “connections” frequency rank
- 9633
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | connecting | connections |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | present participle and gerund of connect | plural of connection |
Where the eye mixes connecting and connections
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. connecting runs 10 letters (CVCCVCCVCC) against connections's 11 (CVCCVCCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between connecting and connections
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: connecting is /kəˈnɛktɪŋ/ while connections is /kəˈnɛkʃənz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9633, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
connecting is recorded at frequency rank #5,486, classified as averb, pronounced /kəˈnɛktɪŋ/. connections is at rank #4,147, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kəˈnɛkʃənz/.
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 9633, this pair ranks #496,384 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of connecting vs connections
Shared letters: ceinot. Private to "connecting": g. Private to "connections": s.
"connecting" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC · "connections" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- connecting ← cconnecting · cnonecting · conecting · conencting · connceting · conneccting · connecitng · connectign
- connections ← cconnections · cnonections · conections · conenctions · conncetions · connecctions · connecitons · connectinos
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "connecting" and "connections" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "connecting" vs "connections" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "connecting" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "connections" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #496,384 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "connecting" and "connections" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "connecting vs connective". 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 #496,384 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.