demovsdeskWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,457
“demo” frequency rank
#3,423
“desk” frequency rank
9880
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature demo desk
Definition A demonstration or visual explanation. A table, frame, or case, in past centuries usually with a sloping top but now usually with a flat top, for the use of writers and readers. It often has a drawer or repository underneath.

Where the eye mixes demo and desk

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
demo
4 ch
desk

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. demo (/ˈdɛm.əʊ/) and desk (/dɛsk/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9880, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

demo is recorded at frequency rank #6,457, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈdɛm.əʊ/. desk is at rank #3,423, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dɛsk/.

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 9880, this pair ranks #495,135 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of demo vs desk

Shared letters: de. Private to "demo": mo. Private to "desk": ks.

"demo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "desk" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • demoddemo · demmo · deom · dmeo · edmo
  • deskddesk · deks · deskk · dessk · dsek · edsk

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "demo" and "desk" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈdɛm.əʊ/ versus /dɛsk/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "demo" or "desk"?
"desk" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,423 in our English list, against #6,457 for "demo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "demo" and "desk". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "demo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "desk" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #495,135 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "demo" and "desk" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "demo vs derp". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list