experimentvsexperimentsTell them apart

Which to use

“experiment” and “experiments” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#3,751
“experiment” frequency rank
#5,126
“experiments” frequency rank
8877
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature experiment experiments
Definition A test under controlled conditions made to either demonstrate a known truth, examine the validity of a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. plural of experiment

Where the eye mixes experiment and experiments

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence.

10 ch
experiment
11 ch
experiments

Look-alike desk: experiment vs experiments

A purely visual mix-up. experiment (/ɪkˈspɛɹ.ɪ.mənt/) and experiments (/ɪkˈspɛɹ.ɪ.mənts/) 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 extra letter(s) - “experiment” sits inside “experiments”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8877, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

experiment is recorded at frequency rank #3,751, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɪkˈspɛɹ.ɪ.mənt/. experiments is at rank #5,126, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɪkˈspɛɹ.ɪ.mənts/.

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 8877, this pair ranks #500,248 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of experiment vs experiments

Shared letters: eimnprtx. Private to "experiment": -. Private to "experiments": s.

"experiment" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCVCC  ·  "experiments" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCVCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • experimentepxeriment · exepriment · expeirment · experiemnt · experimennt · experimentt · experimetn · experimment
  • experimentsepxeriments · exepriments · expeirments · experiemnts · experimennts · experimenst · experimentss · experimentts

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "experiment" and "experiments" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/ɪkˈspɛɹ.ɪ.mənt/ versus /ɪkˈspɛɹ.ɪ.mənts/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "experiment" or "experiments"?
"experiment" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,751 in our English list, against #5,126 for "experiments". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "experiment" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "experiments" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #500,248 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "experiment" and "experiments" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "expedient vs experiment". 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 #500,248 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