delivervsdelveWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,724
“deliver” frequency rank
#24,139
“delve” frequency rank
26863
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature deliver delve
Definition To set free from restraint or danger. To dig into the ground, especially with a shovel.

Where the eye mixes deliver and delve

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
deliver
5 ch
delve

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. deliver (/dɪˈlɪvə(ɹ)/) and delve (/dɛlv/) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26863, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

deliver is recorded at frequency rank #2,724, classified as averb, pronounced /dɪˈlɪvə(ɹ)/. delve is at rank #24,139, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɛlv/.

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 26863, this pair ranks #383,457 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of deliver vs delve

Shared letters: delv. Private to "deliver": ir. Private to "delve": -.

"deliver" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "delve" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • deliverddeliver · deilver · delievr · deliverr · delivre · delivver · delliver · delvier
  • delveddelve · delev · dellve · delvve · devle · dleve · edlve

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "deliver" and "delve" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/dɪˈlɪvə(ɹ)/ versus /dɛlv/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "deliver" or "delve"?
"deliver" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,724 in our English list, against #24,139 for "delve". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list