exertvsexportWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: exert is a verb, export is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“exert” is a verb and “export” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#18,073
“exert” frequency rank
#4,758
“export” frequency rank
22831
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature exert export
Definition To make use of, to apply, especially of something non-material; to bring to bear. Of or relating to exportation or exports.

Letter map: exert vs export

Shared letters muted; letters that set exert and export apart highlighted. Shared run: 4.

5 ch
exert
6 ch
export

Role in the sentence - exert and export

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: exert is averb and exportanadjective. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22831, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

exert is recorded at frequency rank #18,073, classified as averb, pronounced /ɪɡˈzɝt/. export is at rank #4,758, tagged as anadj.

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 22831, this pair ranks #413,690 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of exert vs export

Shared letters: ertx. Private to "exert": -. Private to "export": op.

"exert" · 5 letters · shape VCVCC  ·  "export" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • exerteexrt · exerrt · exertt · exetr · exret · exxert · xeert
  • exportepxort · exoprt · exporrt · exportt · expotr · expport · exprot · exxport

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "exert" and "export" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "exert" is a verb and "export" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "exert" or "export"?
"export" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,758 in our English list, against #18,073 for "exert". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "exert" and "export".

  • Full dictionary entry for "exert" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "export" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #413,690 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "exert" and "export" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "exalt vs exert". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #413,690 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list