entervsentreWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,632
“enter” frequency rank
#36,126
“entre” frequency rank
37758
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature enter entre
Definition To go or come into an enclosed or partially enclosed space. Archaic spelling of enter.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set enter and entre apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
enter
5 ch
entre

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

enter and entre are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ only by swapping two adjacent letters (er ↔ re) - a transposition the eye reads straight past. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37758, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

enter is recorded at frequency rank #1,632, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈɛntə(ɹ)/. entre is at rank #36,126, tagged as averb.

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 37758, this pair ranks #291,757 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of enter vs entre

Shared letters: enrt. Private to "enter": -. Private to "entre": -.

"enter" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "entre" · 5 letters · shape VCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • enterenetr · ennter · enterr · entter · etner · neter
  • entreenntre · enrte · entrre · enttre · etnre · netre

Frequency comparison

enter#1,632
entre#36,126

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "enter" and "entre" be used interchangeably?
No. They differ only by swapping two adjacent letters (er ↔ re) - a transposition the eye reads straight past, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "enter" or "entre"?
"enter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,632 in our English list, against #36,126 for "entre". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering enter vs entre

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 “enter” 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