Estes vs exes, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“Estes” is a name and “exes” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#36,543
“Estes” frequency rank: #26,415
“exes” frequency rank: 62958
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	Estes	exes
Definition	A surname.	plural of ex

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Estes and exes apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch

Estes

4 ch

exes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Estes is /ˈɛstiz/ while exes is /ˈɛksəz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62958, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Estes is recorded at frequency rank #36,543, classified as aname, pronounced /ˈɛstiz/. exes is at rank #26,415, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɛksəz/.

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 62958, this pair ranks #85,611 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Estes vs exes

Shared letters: es. Private to "Estes": t. Private to "exes": x.

"Estes" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "exes" · 4 letters · shape VCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

Estes ← esets · esstes · estess · estse · esttes · etses · setes
exes ← eexs · exess · exse · exxes · xees

Frequency comparison

Estes#36,543

exes#26,415

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Estes" and "exes" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Estes" is a name and "exes" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "Estes" or "exes"?

"exes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,415 in our English list, against #36,543 for "Estes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Estes vs exes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a name, it's “Estes”; for a noun, it's “exes”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Estes” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable