Which to use
“expend” and “extends” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,801
- “expend” frequency rank
- #7,224
- “extends” frequency rank
- 40025
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | expend | extends |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To consume, exhaust (some resource). | third-person singular simple present indicative of extend |
Where the eye mixes expend and extends
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses expend with extends
A purely visual mix-up. expend (/ɪkˈspɛnd/) and extends (/ɛkˈstɛndz/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40025, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
expend is recorded at frequency rank #32,801, classified as averb, pronounced /ɪkˈspɛnd/. extends is at rank #7,224, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɛkˈstɛndz/.
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 40025, this pair ranks #271,352 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of expend vs extends
Shared letters: denx. Private to "expend": p. Private to "extends": st.
"expend" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC · "extends" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "expend" for "extends" ever safe?
Frequency check: "expend" vs "extends" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "expend" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "extends" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #271,352 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "expend" and "extends" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "expel 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 #271,352 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.