Which to use
“drain” and “drains” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,353
- “drain” frequency rank
- #13,907
- “drains” frequency rank
- 20260
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | drain | drains |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A conduit allowing liquid to flow out of an otherwise contained volume; a plughole (UK) | plural of drain |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set drain and drains apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. drain (/dɹeɪn/) and drains (/dɹeɪnz/) 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) - “drain” sits inside “drains”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20260, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
drain is recorded at frequency rank #6,353, classified as anoun, pronounced /dɹeɪn/. drains is at rank #13,907, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dɹeɪnz/.
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 20260, this pair ranks #432,355 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of drain vs drains
Shared letters: adinr. Private to "drain": -. Private to "drains": s.
"drain" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC · "drains" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "drain" and "drains" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "drain" or "drains"?
Remembering drain vs drains
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 “drain” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable