Which to use
“divide” is a verb and “divider” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,876
- “divide” frequency rank
- #36,527
- “divider” frequency rank
- 42403
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | divide | divider |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To split or separate (something) into two or more parts. | One who or that which divides or separates. |
Where the eye mixes divide and divider
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between divide and divider
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: divide is /dɪˈvaɪd/ while divider is /dɪˈvaɪdə(ɹ)/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “divide” sits inside “divider”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42403, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
divide is recorded at frequency rank #5,876, classified as averb, pronounced /dɪˈvaɪd/. divider is at rank #36,527, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dɪˈvaɪdə(ɹ)/.
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 42403, this pair ranks #249,554 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of divide vs divider
Shared letters: deiv. Private to "divide": -. Private to "divider": r.
"divide" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "divider" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "divide" for "divider" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "divide" or "divider" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "divide" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "divider" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #249,554 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "divide" and "divider" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "decider vs divider". 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 #249,554 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.