Which to use
“expand” and “expanded” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,944
- “expand” frequency rank
- #4,446
- “expanded” frequency rank
- 8390
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | expand | expanded |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To change (something) from a smaller form or size to a larger one; to spread out or lay open. | simple past and past participle of expand |
Where the eye mixes expand and expanded
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: expand vs expanded
A purely visual mix-up. expand (/ɪkˈspænd/) and expanded (/ɛkˈspændɪd/) 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) - “expand” sits inside “expanded”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8390, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
expand is recorded at frequency rank #3,944, classified as averb, pronounced /ɪkˈspænd/. expanded is at rank #4,446, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɛkˈspændɪd/.
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 8390, this pair ranks #502,741 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of expand vs expanded
Shared letters: adenpx. Private to "expand": -. Private to "expanded": -.
"expand" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC · "expanded" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "expand" for "expanded" ever safe?
Which is more common, "expand" or "expanded"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "expand" and "expanded" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "expand" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "expanded" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #502,741 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "expand" and "expanded" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "expand vs expend". 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 #502,741 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.