dikesvsdisWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: dikes is a noun, dis is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“dikes” is a noun and “dis” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#49,870
“dikes” frequency rank
#10,679
“dis” frequency rank
60549
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dikes dis
Definition plural of dike Alternative spelling of diss.

Letter map: dikes vs dis

Shared letters muted; letters that set dikes and dis apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.

5 ch
dikes
3 ch
dis

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: dikes is anoun and disaverb. On the page they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60549, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dikes is recorded at frequency rank #49,870, classified as anoun. dis is at rank #10,679, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɪs/.

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 60549, this pair ranks #99,573 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of dikes vs dis

Shared letters: dis. Private to "dikes": ek. Private to "dis": -.

"dikes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "dis" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dikesddikes · dieks · dikess · dikkes · dikse · dkies · idkes

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dikes" and "dis" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dikes" is a noun and "dis" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "dikes" or "dis"?
"dis" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,679 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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list