dike vs dikes, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#34,858
“dike” frequency rank: #49,870
“dikes” frequency rank: 84728
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	dike	dikes
Definition	Alternative spelling of dyke: ditch; embankment; waterway; etc.	plural of dike

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dike and dikes apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

dike

5 ch

dikes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

dike and dikes are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “dike” sits inside “dikes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 84728, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dike is recorded at frequency rank #34,858, classified as anoun, pronounced /daɪk/. dikes is at rank #49,870, tagged as anoun.

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 84728, this pair ranks #11,557 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of dike vs dikes

Shared letters: deik. Private to "dike": -. Private to "dikes": s.

"dike" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "dikes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

dike ← ddike · diek · dikke · dkie · idke
dikes ← ddikes · dieks · dikess · dikkes · dikse · dkies · idkes

Frequency comparison

dike#34,858

dikes#49,870

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dike" and "dikes" be used interchangeably?

No. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “dike” sits inside “dikes”, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.

Which is more common, "dike" or "dikes"?

"dike" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,858 in our English list, against #49,870 for "dikes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dike vs dikes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dike” entry
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