Which to use
“fewer” and “fewest” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,236
- “fewer” frequency rank
- #27,834
- “fewest” frequency rank
- 32070
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fewer | fewest |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | comparative degree of few; a smaller number. | superlative degree of few; the smallest number. |
Letter map: fewer vs fewest
Shared letters muted; letters that set fewer and fewest apart highlighted. Shared run: 4. fewer runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against fewest's 6 (CVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Corpus notes: fewer and fewest
fewer and fewest are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32070, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fewer is recorded at frequency rank #4,236, classified as adet, pronounced /ˈfjuː.ɚ/. fewest is at rank #27,834, tagged as adet.
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 32070, this pair ranks #340,879 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fewer vs fewest
Shared letters: efw. Private to "fewer": r. Private to "fewest": st.
"fewer" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "fewest" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fewer" and "fewest" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "fewer" or "fewest" show up more?
What to do next
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "fewer" and "fewest".
- Full dictionary entry for "fewer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fewest" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #340,879 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fewer" and "fewest" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fader vs fewer". 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 #340,879 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.