extendedvsextendsConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#2,293
“extended” frequency rank
#7,224
“extends” frequency rank
9517
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature extended extends
Definition simple past and past participle of extend third-person singular simple present indicative of extend

Where the eye mixes extended and extends

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
extended
7 ch
extends

Look-alike desk: extended vs extends

A purely visual mix-up. extended (/ɛkˈstɛndɪd/) 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 9517, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

extended is recorded at frequency rank #2,293, classified as averb, pronounced /ɛkˈstɛndɪd/. 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 9517, this pair ranks #497,015 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of extended vs extends

Shared letters: dentx. Private to "extended": -. Private to "extends": s.

"extended" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC  ·  "extends" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • extendedetxended · exetnded · extedned · extendde · extendded · extendedd · extenedd · extennded
  • extendsetxends · exetnds · extedns · extendds · extendss · extennds · extensd · extneds

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "extended" and "extends" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ɛkˈstɛndɪd/ versus /ɛkˈstɛndz/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "extended" vs "extends" - which ranks higher?
"extended" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,293 in our English list, against #7,224 for "extends". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "extended" and "extends" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "extended" 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 #497,015 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "extended" and "extends" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "extender vs extends". 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 #497,015 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