Which to use
“divers” and “dives” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,407
- “divers” frequency rank
- #19,580
- “dives” frequency rank
- 31987
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | divers | dives |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of diver | plural of dive |
Where the eye mixes divers and dives
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between divers and dives
A purely visual mix-up. divers (/ˈdaɪvə(ɹ)z/) and dives (/ˈdaɪvz/) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31987, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
divers is recorded at frequency rank #12,407, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈdaɪvə(ɹ)z/. dives is at rank #19,580, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈdaɪvz/.
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 31987, this pair ranks #341,543 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of divers vs dives
Shared letters: deisv. Private to "divers": r. Private to "dives": -.
"divers" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "dives" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "divers" and "dives" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "divers" or "dives"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "divers" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dives" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #341,543 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "divers" and "dives" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dimer vs dives". 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 #341,543 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.