Which to use
“exhibit” and “exhibited” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,496
- “exhibit” frequency rank
- #8,787
- “exhibited” frequency rank
- 14283
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | exhibit | exhibited |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To display or show (something) for others to see, especially at an exhibition or contest. | simple past and past participle of exhibit |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set exhibit and exhibited apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. exhibit (/ɪɡˈzɪbɪt/) and exhibited (/ɪɡˈzɪbɪtɪd/) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “exhibit” sits inside “exhibited”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14283, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
exhibit is recorded at frequency rank #5,496, classified as averb, pronounced /ɪɡˈzɪbɪt/. exhibited is at rank #8,787, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɪɡˈzɪbɪtɪd/.
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 14283, this pair ranks #470,970 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of exhibit vs exhibited
Shared letters: behitx. Private to "exhibit": -. Private to "exhibited": d.
"exhibit" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "exhibited" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "exhibit" and "exhibited" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "exhibit" or "exhibited"?
Remembering exhibit vs exhibited
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 “exhibit” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable