Which to use
“dob” and “dole” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,170
- “dob” frequency rank
- #18,808
- “dole” frequency rank
- 62978
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dob | dole |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To report a person to someone in authority for a wrongdoing. (For transitive forms see dob in, dob on.) | To distribute in small amounts; to share out small portions of a meager resource. |
Where the eye mixes dob and dole
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: dob vs dole
A purely visual mix-up. dob (/dɑb/) and dole (/dəʊl/) 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 62978, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dob is recorded at frequency rank #44,170, classified as averb, pronounced /dɑb/. dole is at rank #18,808, tagged as averb, pronounced /dəʊl/.
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 62978, this pair ranks #85,512 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of dob vs dole
Shared letters: do. Private to "dob": b. Private to "dole": el.
"dob" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "dole" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- dole ← ddole · dloe · doel · dolle · odle
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dob" and "dole" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "dob" or "dole"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "dob" and "dole" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "dob" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dole" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #85,512 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dob" and "dole" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dob vs dox". 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 #85,512 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.