Which to use
“curd” and “cusp” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,942
- “curd” frequency rank
- #27,112
- “cusp” frequency rank
- 59054
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | curd | cusp |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The part of milk that coagulates when it sours or is treated with enzymes; used to make cottage cheese, dahi, etc. | A sharp point or pointed end. |
Where the eye mixes curd and cusp
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses curd with cusp
A purely visual mix-up. curd (/kɜː(ɹ)d/) and cusp (/kʌsp/) 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 59054, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
curd is recorded at frequency rank #31,942, classified as anoun, pronounced /kɜː(ɹ)d/. cusp is at rank #27,112, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kʌsp/.
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 59054, this pair ranks #108,593 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of curd vs cusp
Shared letters: cu. Private to "curd": dr. Private to "cusp": ps.
"curd" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "cusp" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "curd" and "cusp" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "curd" or "cusp" 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 "curd" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cusp" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #108,593 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "curd" and "cusp" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "curd vs curia". 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 #108,593 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.