Which to use
“dames” and “dime” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,988
- “dames” frequency rank
- #11,873
- “dime” frequency rank
- 41861
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dames | dime |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of dame | A coin worth one-tenth of a dollar, that is, ten cents. |
Where the eye mixes dames and dime
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: dames vs dime
A purely visual mix-up. dames (/deɪmz/) and dime (/daɪm/) 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 41861, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dames is recorded at frequency rank #29,988, classified as anoun, pronounced /deɪmz/. dime is at rank #11,873, tagged as anoun, pronounced /daɪm/.
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 41861, this pair ranks #254,466 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dames vs dime
Shared letters: dem. Private to "dames": as. Private to "dime": i.
"dames" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "dime" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "dames" for "dime" ever safe?
Which is more common, "dames" or "dime"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "dames" and "dime" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "dames" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dime" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #254,466 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dames" and "dime" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dames vs dimer". 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 #254,466 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.