electionsvserectionWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“elections” and “erection” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,198
“elections” frequency rank
#14,525
“erection” frequency rank
16723
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature elections erection
Definition plural of election The act of building or putting up or together of something.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set elections and erection apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
elections
8 ch
erection

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. elections (/ɪˈlɛkʃ(ə)nz/) and erection (/ɪˈɹɛkʃən/) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16723, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

elections is recorded at frequency rank #2,198, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɪˈlɛkʃ(ə)nz/. erection is at rank #14,525, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɪˈɹɛkʃən/.

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 16723, this pair ranks #455,955 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of elections vs erection

Shared letters: ceinot. Private to "elections": ls. Private to "erection": r.

"elections" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCVVCC  ·  "erection" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • electionseelctions · elcetions · elecctions · elecitons · electinos · electionns · electionss · electiosn
  • erectioneerction · ercetion · erecction · ereciton · erecsion · erectino · erectionn · erectoin

Frequency comparison

elections#2,198
erection#14,525

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "elections" and "erection" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ɪˈlɛkʃ(ə)nz/ versus /ɪˈɹɛkʃən/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "elections" or "erection"?
"elections" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,198 in our English list, against #14,525 for "erection". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering elections vs erection

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 “elections” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list