# dole vs dope

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### dole
*verb · IPA /dəʊl/ · frequency rank #18,808*
To distribute in small amounts; to share out small portions of a meager resource.

### dope
*noun · IPA [dəʊp] · frequency rank #8,275*
Any viscous liquid or paste, such as a lubricant, used in preparing a surface.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dole-vs-dope