Which to use
“figure” and “fixture” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #904
- “figure” frequency rank
- #11,696
- “fixture” frequency rank
- 12600
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | figure | fixture |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A drawing or diagram conveying information. | Something that is fixed in place, especially a permanent appliance or other item of personal property that is considered part of a house and is sold with it; compare fitting, furnishing. |
Where the eye mixes figure and fixture
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: figure vs fixture
A purely visual mix-up. figure (/ˈfɪɡə/) and fixture (/ˈfɪks.t͡ʃə/) 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 12600, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
figure is recorded at frequency rank #904, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈfɪɡə/. fixture is at rank #11,696, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈfɪks.t͡ʃə/.
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 12600, this pair ranks #480,631 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of figure vs fixture
Shared letters: efiru. Private to "figure": g. Private to "fixture": tx.
"figure" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "fixture" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "figure" for "fixture" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "figure" or "fixture" show up more?
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 "figure" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fixture" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #480,631 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "figure" and "fixture" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fissure vs fixture". 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 #480,631 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.