dill vs drill, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#25,033
“dill” frequency rank: #6,132
“drill” frequency rank: 31165
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	dill	drill
Definition	Anethum graveolens (the type species of the genus Anethum), a herb, the seeds of which are moderately warming, pungent, and aromatic, formerly used as a soothing medicine for children; also known as dillseed.	To create (a hole) by removing material with a drill (tool).

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch

dill

5 ch

drill

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

dill and drill form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31165, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dill is recorded at frequency rank #25,033, classified as anoun, pronounced /dɪl/. drill is at rank #6,132, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɹɪl/.

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 31165, this pair ranks #348,451 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

dill#25,033

drill#6,132

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dill" and "drill" be used interchangeably?

No, "dill" and "drill" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering dill vs drill

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “dill”; for a verb, it's “drill”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dill” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable