fitsvsfixesConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#4,527
“fits” frequency rank
#13,150
“fixes” frequency rank
17677
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fits fixes
Definition plural of fit plural of fix

Where the eye mixes fits and fixes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
fits
5 ch
fixes

Look-alike desk: fits vs fixes

A purely visual mix-up. fits (/fɪts/) and fixes (/ˈfɪksɪz/) 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 17677, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fits is recorded at frequency rank #4,527, classified as anoun, pronounced /fɪts/. fixes is at rank #13,150, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈfɪksɪz/.

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 17677, this pair ranks #449,865 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of fits vs fixes

Shared letters: fis. Private to "fits": t. Private to "fixes": ex.

"fits" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "fixes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fitsffits · fitss · fitts · ftis · ifts
  • fixesffixes · fiexs · fixess · fixse · fixxes · fxies · ifxes

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fits" and "fixes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/fɪts/ versus /ˈfɪksɪz/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary English text, does "fits" or "fixes" show up more?
"fits" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,527 in our English list, against #13,150 for "fixes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "fits" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fixes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #449,865 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fits" and "fixes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fie vs fixes". 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 #449,865 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