Which to use
“doorman” and “doormat” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,427
- “doorman” frequency rank
- #44,173
- “doormat” frequency rank
- 81600
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | doorman | doormat |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A person who holds open the door at the entryway (entrance) to a building, summons taxicabs, and provides an element of security; in apartment buildings, he also accepts deliveries and may perform certain concierge type services. | A coarse mat at the entrance to a house, upon which one wipes one's shoes. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set doorman and doormat apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
doorman and doormat are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by a single letter - n in “doorman” becomes t in “doormat”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 81600, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
doorman is recorded at frequency rank #37,427, classified as anoun. doormat is at rank #44,173, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈdɔːˌmæt/.
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 81600, this pair ranks #17,367 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of doorman vs doormat
Shared letters: admor. Private to "doorman": n. Private to "doormat": t.
"doorman" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC · "doormat" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "doorman" and "doormat" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "doorman" or "doormat"?
Remembering doorman vs doormat
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “doorman” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable