Which to use
“demo” and “dev” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,457
- “demo” frequency rank
- #10,193
- “dev” frequency rank
- 16650
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | demo | dev |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A demonstration or visual explanation. | Clipping of developer. |
Where the eye mixes demo and dev
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses demo with dev
A purely visual mix-up. demo (/ˈdɛm.əʊ/) 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 16650, 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/. 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 16650, this pair ranks #456,427 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of demo vs dev
Shared letters: de. Private to "demo": mo. Private to "dev": v.
"demo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "dev" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- demo ← ddemo · demmo · deom · dmeo · edmo
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "demo" and "dev" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "demo" or "dev"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "demo" and "dev" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "demo" 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 #456,427 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "demo" 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 #456,427 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.