fieldsvsfoldsConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#2,485
“fields” frequency rank
#16,473
“folds” frequency rank
18958
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fields folds
Definition plural of field plural of fold

Where the eye mixes fields and folds

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
fields
5 ch
folds

Why the eye confuses fields with folds

A purely visual mix-up. fields (/fiːldz/) and folds (/foʊldz/) 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 18958, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fields is recorded at frequency rank #2,485, classified as anoun, pronounced /fiːldz/. folds is at rank #16,473, tagged as anoun, pronounced /foʊldz/.

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 18958, this pair ranks #441,454 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of fields vs folds

Shared letters: dfls. Private to "fields": ei. Private to "folds": o.

"fields" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCC  ·  "folds" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fieldsfeilds · ffields · fiedls · fieldds · fieldss · fiellds · fielsd · fileds
  • foldsffolds · fodls · foldds · foldss · follds · folsd · oflds

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "fields" and "folds" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/fiːldz/ versus /foʊldz/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "fields" vs "folds" - which ranks higher?
"fields" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,485 in our English list, against #16,473 for "folds". 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 "fields" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "folds" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #441,454 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fields" and "folds" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fells vs folds". 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 #441,454 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