Which to use
“dollar” and “dollars” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,531
- “dollar” frequency rank
- #1,717
- “dollars” frequency rank
- 4248
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dollar | dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Official designation for currency in some parts of the world, including Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, and elsewhere. Its symbol is $. | plural of dollar |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dollar and dollars apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. dollar (/ˈdɒl.ə/) and dollars (/ˈdɒl.əz/) 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 extra letter(s) - “dollar” sits inside “dollars”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4248, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dollar is recorded at frequency rank #2,531, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈdɒl.ə/. dollars is at rank #1,717, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈdɒl.əz/.
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 4248, this pair ranks #519,527 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of dollar vs dollars
Shared letters: adlor. Private to "dollar": -. Private to "dollars": s.
"dollar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "dollars" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC