Which to use
“device” and “devices” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,150
- “device” frequency rank
- #2,530
- “devices” frequency rank
- 4680
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | device | devices |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Any piece of equipment made for a particular purpose, especially a mechanical or electrical one. | plural of device |
Where the eye mixes device and devices
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses device with devices
A purely visual mix-up. device (/dɪˈvaɪs/) and devices (/dəˈvaɪsɪz/) 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 extra letter(s) - “device” sits inside “devices”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4680, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
device is recorded at frequency rank #2,150, classified as anoun, pronounced /dɪˈvaɪs/. devices is at rank #2,530, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dəˈvaɪsɪz/.
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 4680, this pair ranks #518,078 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of device vs devices
Shared letters: cdeiv. Private to "device": -. Private to "devices": s.
"device" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "devices" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "device" and "devices" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "device" vs "devices" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "device" and "devices" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "device" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "devices" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #518,078 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "device" and "devices" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "device vs Devito". 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 #518,078 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.