Which to use
“dens” and “dents” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,854
- “dens” frequency rank
- #35,681
- “dents” frequency rank
- 70535
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dens | dents |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of den | plural of dent |
Where the eye mixes dens and dents
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. dens runs 4 letters (CVCC) against dents's 5 (CVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: dens vs dents
A purely visual mix-up. dens (/dɛnz/) and dents (/dɛnts/) 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 70535, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dens is recorded at frequency rank #34,854, classified as anoun, pronounced /dɛnz/. dents is at rank #35,681, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dɛnts/.
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 70535, this pair ranks #50,181 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of dens vs dents
Shared letters: dens. Private to "dens": -. Private to "dents": t.
"dens" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "dents" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dens" and "dents" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "dens" vs "dents" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "dens" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dents" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #50,181 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dens" and "dents" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dens vs DNP". 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 #50,181 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.