Which to use
“dash” and “dashes” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,116
- “dash” frequency rank
- #34,005
- “dashes” frequency rank
- 41121
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dash | dashes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Any of the following symbols: ‒ (figure dash), – (en dash), — (em dash), or ― (horizontal bar). | plural of dash |
Where the eye mixes dash and dashes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between dash and dashes
A purely visual mix-up. dash (/dæʃ/) and dashes (/ˈdæʃɪz/) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “dash” sits inside “dashes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41121, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dash is recorded at frequency rank #7,116, classified as anoun, pronounced /dæʃ/. dashes is at rank #34,005, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈdæʃɪz/.
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 41121, this pair ranks #261,315 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dash vs dashes
Shared letters: adhs. Private to "dash": -. Private to "dashes": e.
"dash" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "dashes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "dash" and "dashes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "dash" or "dashes" show up more?
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 "dash" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dashes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #261,315 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dash" and "dashes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dashes vs dished". 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 #261,315 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.