Which to use
“debts” and “devs” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,215
- “debts” frequency rank
- #33,614
- “devs” frequency rank
- 40829
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | debts | devs |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of debt | plural of dev |
Where the eye mixes debts and devs
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses debts with devs
A purely visual mix-up. debts (/dɛts/) and devs (/dɛvz/) 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 40829, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
debts is recorded at frequency rank #7,215, classified as anoun, pronounced /dɛts/. devs is at rank #33,614, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dɛvz/.
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 40829, this pair ranks #264,026 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of debts vs devs
Shared letters: des. Private to "debts": bt. Private to "devs": v.
"debts" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "devs" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "debts" and "devs" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "debts" or "devs"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "debts" and "devs" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "debts" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "devs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #264,026 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "debts" and "devs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "derp vs devs". 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 #264,026 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.