Which to use
“Dodd” is a name and “down” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,061
- “Dodd” frequency rank
- #137
- “down” frequency rank
- 18198
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Dodd | down |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An English surname from Middle English derived from a Middle English given name of obscure origin. | From a higher position to a lower one; downwards. |
Letter map: Dodd vs down
Shared letters muted; letters that set Dodd and down apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.
Role in the sentence - Dodd and down
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: Dodd is aname and downanadverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18198, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Dodd is recorded at frequency rank #18,061, classified as aname. down is at rank #137, tagged as anadv, pronounced /daʊn/.
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 18198, this pair ranks #446,485 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Dodd vs down
Shared letters: do. Private to "Dodd": -. Private to "down": nw.
"Dodd" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "down" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Dodd" for "down" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Dodd" or "down"?
Useful next steps
You've compared "Dodd" and "down". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "Dodd" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "down" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #446,485 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Dodd" and "down" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Dodd 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 #446,485 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.