Which to use
“corner” and “cotter” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,817
- “corner” frequency rank
- #37,401
- “cotter” frequency rank
- 39218
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | corner | cotter |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The point where two converging lines meet; an angle, either external or internal. | A pin or wedge inserted through a slot to hold machine parts together. |
Where the eye mixes corner and cotter
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses corner with cotter
A purely visual mix-up. corner (/ˈkɔːnə(ɹ)/) and cotter (/kɒtə/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39218, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
corner is recorded at frequency rank #1,817, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɔːnə(ɹ)/. cotter is at rank #37,401, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɒtə/.
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 39218, this pair ranks #278,698 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of corner vs cotter
Shared letters: ceor. Private to "corner": n. Private to "cotter": t.
"corner" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "cotter" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "corner" for "cotter" ever safe?
Frequency check: "corner" vs "cotter" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "corner" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cotter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #278,698 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "corner" and "cotter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cotter 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 #278,698 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.