Which to use
“delve” is a verb and “deuce” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #24,139
- “delve” frequency rank
- #31,135
- “deuce” frequency rank
- 55274
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | delve | deuce |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To dig into the ground, especially with a shovel. | A card with two pips, one of four in a standard deck of playing cards. |
Where the eye mixes delve and deuce
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses delve with deuce
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: delve is /dɛlv/ while deuce is /djuːs/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55274, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
delve is recorded at frequency rank #24,139, classified as averb, pronounced /dɛlv/. deuce is at rank #31,135, tagged as anoun, pronounced /djuːs/.
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 55274, this pair ranks #134,863 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of delve vs deuce
Shared letters: de. Private to "delve": lv. Private to "deuce": cu.
"delve" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "deuce" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "delve" for "deuce" ever safe?
Frequency check: "delve" vs "deuce" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "delve" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "deuce" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #134,863 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "delve" and "deuce" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "demure vs deuce". 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 #134,863 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.