Which to use
“eclipse” and “ellipse” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,462
- “eclipse” frequency rank
- #42,625
- “ellipse” frequency rank
- 52087
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | eclipse | ellipse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An alignment of astronomical objects whereby one object comes between the observer (or notional observer) and another object, thus obscuring the latter. | A closed curve, the locus of a point such that the sum of the distances from that point to two other fixed points (called the foci of the ellipse) is constant; equivalently, the conic section that is the intersection of a cone with a plane that does not intersect the base of the cone. |
Where the eye mixes eclipse and ellipse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: eclipse vs ellipse
A purely visual mix-up. eclipse (/ɪˈklɪps/) and ellipse (/ɪˈlɪps/) 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 a single letter - c in “eclipse” becomes l in “ellipse”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52087, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
eclipse is recorded at frequency rank #9,462, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɪˈklɪps/. ellipse is at rank #42,625, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɪˈlɪps/.
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 52087, this pair ranks #159,940 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of eclipse vs ellipse
Shared letters: eilps. Private to "eclipse": c. Private to "ellipse": -.
"eclipse" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV · "ellipse" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "eclipse" and "ellipse" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "eclipse" or "ellipse"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "eclipse" and "ellipse" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "eclipse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ellipse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #159,940 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "eclipse" and "ellipse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ellipse vs Eloise". 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 #159,940 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.