dealingvsdealingsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“dealing” and “dealings” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,478
“dealing” frequency rank
#14,102
“dealings” frequency rank
16580
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dealing dealings
Definition A business transaction. Relations with others.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dealing and dealings apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
dealing
8 ch
dealings

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. dealing (/ˈdiːlɪŋ/) and dealings (/ˈdiːlɪŋ(ɡ)z/) 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 extra letter(s) - “dealing” sits inside “dealings”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16580, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dealing is recorded at frequency rank #2,478, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈdiːlɪŋ/. dealings is at rank #14,102, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈdiːlɪŋ(ɡ)z/.

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 16580, this pair ranks #456,862 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of dealing vs dealings

Shared letters: adegiln. Private to "dealing": -. Private to "dealings": s.

"dealing" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC  ·  "dealings" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dealingdaeling · ddealing · deailng · dealign · dealingg · dealinng · dealling · dealnig
  • dealingsdaelings · ddealings · deailngs · dealigns · dealinggs · dealingss · dealinngs · dealinsg

Frequency comparison

dealing#2,478
dealings#14,102

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dealing" and "dealings" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈdiːlɪŋ/ versus /ˈdiːlɪŋ(ɡ)z/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "dealing" or "dealings"?
"dealing" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,478 in our English list, against #14,102 for "dealings". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dealing vs dealings

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dealing” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list