Which to use
“deed” and “dev” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,352
- “deed” frequency rank
- #10,193
- “dev” frequency rank
- 20545
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | deed | dev |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An action or act; something that is done. | Clipping of developer. |
Where the eye mixes deed and dev
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: deed vs dev
A purely visual mix-up. deed (/diːd/) and dev (/dɛv/) 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 20545, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
deed is recorded at frequency rank #10,352, classified as anoun, pronounced /diːd/. dev is at rank #10,193, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dɛv/.
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 20545, this pair ranks #430,371 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of deed vs dev
Shared letters: de. Private to "deed": -. Private to "dev": v.
"deed" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "dev" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- deed ← ddeed · dede · deedd · eded
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "deed" for "dev" ever safe?
Which is more common, "deed" or "dev"?
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 "deed" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dev" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #430,371 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "deed" and "dev" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dev vs dox". 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 #430,371 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.