Which to use
“convoy” and “covey” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,006
- “convoy” frequency rank
- #46,402
- “covey” frequency rank
- 57408
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | convoy | covey |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | One or more merchant ships sailing in company to the same general destination under the protection of naval vessels. | A brood or family of partridges (family Phasianidae), which includes game birds such as grouse (tribe Tetraonini) and ptarmigans (tribe Tetraonini, genus Lagopus). |
Where the eye mixes convoy and covey
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between convoy and covey
A purely visual mix-up. convoy (/ˈkɒn.vɔɪ/) and covey (/ˈkʌvi/) 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 57408, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
convoy is recorded at frequency rank #11,006, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɒn.vɔɪ/. covey is at rank #46,402, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkʌvi/.
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 57408, this pair ranks #119,463 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of convoy vs covey
Shared letters: covy. Private to "convoy": n. Private to "covey": e.
"convoy" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV · "covey" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "convoy" and "covey" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "convoy" or "covey" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "convoy" and "covey" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "convoy" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "covey" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #119,463 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "convoy" and "covey" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "covey vs cower". 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 #119,463 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.