Which to use
“distribute” and “distributed” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,736
- “distribute” frequency rank
- #4,227
- “distributed” frequency rank
- 13963
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | distribute | distributed |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To divide into portions and dispense. | simple past and past participle of distribute |
Where the eye mixes distribute and distributed
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between distribute and distributed
A purely visual mix-up. distribute (/dɪˈstɹɪbjuːt/) and distributed (/dɪsˈtɹɪbjutɪd/) 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) - “distribute” sits inside “distributed”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13963, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
distribute is recorded at frequency rank #9,736, classified as averb, pronounced /dɪˈstɹɪbjuːt/. distributed is at rank #4,227, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɪsˈtɹɪbjutɪd/.
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 13963, this pair ranks #472,853 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of distribute vs distributed
Shared letters: bdeirstu. Private to "distribute": -. Private to "distributed": -.
"distribute" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCV · "distributed" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- distribute ← ddistribute · disrtibute · disstribute · distirbute · distrbiute · distribbute · distribtue · distribuet
- distributed ← ddistributed · disrtibuted · disstributed · distirbuted · distrbiuted · distribbuted · distribtued · distribuetd
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "distribute" and "distributed" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "distribute" or "distributed"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "distribute" and "distributed" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "distribute" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "distributed" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #472,853 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "distribute" and "distributed" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "distribute vs distributive". 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 #472,853 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.