Which to use
“eighteen” is a num and “eighties” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,463
- “eighteen” frequency rank
- #21,784
- “eighties” frequency rank
- 31247
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | eighteen | eighties |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The cardinal number occurring after seventeen and before nineteen, represented in Roman numerals as XVIII and in Arabic numerals as 18. | The decade of the 1880s, 1980s, etc. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set eighteen and eighties apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
eighteen and eighties form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31247, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
eighteen is recorded at frequency rank #9,463, classified as anum, pronounced /ˈeɪ(t).tin/. eighties is at rank #21,784, tagged as anoun.
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 31247, this pair ranks #347,771 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "eighteen" and "eighties" be used interchangeably?
Remembering eighteen vs eighties
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a num, it's “eighteen”; for a noun, it's “eighties”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “eighteen” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable