Which to use
“device” is a noun and “devise” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,150
- “device” frequency rank
- #22,645
- “devise” frequency rank
- 24795
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | device | devise |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Any piece of equipment made for a particular purpose, especially a mechanical or electrical one. | To use one’s intellect to plan or design (something). |
Where the eye mixes device and devise
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between device and devise
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: device is /dɪˈvaɪs/ while devise is /dɪˈvaɪz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - c in “device” becomes s in “devise”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24795, 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/. devise is at rank #22,645, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɪˈvaɪz/.
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 24795, this pair ranks #399,252 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of device vs devise
Shared letters: deiv. Private to "device": c. Private to "devise": s.
"device" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "devise" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "device" for "devise" ever safe?
Frequency check: "device" vs "devise" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "device" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "devise" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #399,252 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "device" and "devise" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "devise 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 #399,252 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.