endeavorvsendeavourWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#13,710
“endeavor” frequency rank
#16,014
“endeavour” frequency rank
29724
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature endeavor endeavour
Definition A sincere attempt; a determined or assiduous effort towards a specific goal; assiduous or persistent activity. British standard spelling of endeavor.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set endeavor and endeavour apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
endeavor
9 ch
endeavour

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. endeavor and endeavour are pronounced identically (/ɪnˈdɛv.ə/) and both work as anoun. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29724, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

endeavor is recorded at frequency rank #13,710, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɪnˈdɛv.ə/. endeavour is at rank #16,014, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɪnˈdɛv.ə/.

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 29724, this pair ranks #360,583 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of endeavor vs endeavour

Shared letters: adenorv. Private to "endeavor": -. Private to "endeavour": u.

"endeavor" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC  ·  "endeavour" · 9 letters · shape VCCVVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • endeavoredneavor · endaevor · enddeavor · endeaovr · endeavorr · endeavro · endeavvor · endevaor
  • endeavouredneavour · endaevour · enddeavour · endeaovur · endeavoru · endeavourr · endeavuor · endeavvour

Frequency comparison

endeavor#13,710
endeavour#16,014

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "endeavor" and "endeavour" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (/ɪnˈdɛv.ə/), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.
Which is more common, "endeavor" or "endeavour"?
"endeavor" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,710 in our English list, against #16,014 for "endeavour". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering endeavor vs endeavour

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 “endeavor” 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