# contain vs contained

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### contain
*verb · IPA /kənˈteɪn/ · frequency rank #2,984*
To hold inside.

### contained
*adjective · IPA /kənˈteɪnd/ · frequency rank #3,286*
Restricted in space.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/contain-vs-contained