Which to use
“contract” is a noun and “contracted” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,216
- “contract” frequency rank
- #8,402
- “contracted” frequency rank
- 9618
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contract | contracted |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An agreement between two or more parties, to perform a specific job or work order, often temporary or of fixed duration and usually governed by a written agreement. | Arranged by contract; established by agreement. |
Where the eye mixes contract and contracted
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between contract and contracted
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: contract is /ˈkɒntɹækt/ while contracted is /kənˈtɹæktɪd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “contract” sits inside “contracted”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9618, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contract is recorded at frequency rank #1,216, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɒntɹækt/. contracted is at rank #8,402, tagged as anadj, pronounced /kənˈtɹæktɪd/.
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 9618, this pair ranks #496,451 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of contract vs contracted
Shared letters: acnort. Private to "contract": -. Private to "contracted": de.
"contract" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCC · "contracted" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- contract ← ccontract · cnotract · conntract · conrtact · contarct · contracct · contractt · contratc
- contracted ← ccontracted · cnotracted · conntracted · conrtacted · contarcted · contraccted · contracetd · contractde
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "contract" and "contracted" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "contract" or "contracted" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "contract" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contracted" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #496,451 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contract" and "contracted" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contracted vs contrasted". 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 #496,451 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.