Which to use
“flies” and “fuses” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,142
- “flies” frequency rank
- #26,436
- “fuses” frequency rank
- 32578
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | flies | fuses |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of fly | plural of fuse |
Where the eye mixes flies and fuses
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. flies (CCVVC) and fuses (CVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses flies with fuses
A purely visual mix-up. flies (/flaɪz/) and fuses (/ˈfjuːzɪz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32578, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
flies is recorded at frequency rank #6,142, classified as anoun, pronounced /flaɪz/. fuses is at rank #26,436, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈfjuːzɪz/.
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 32578, this pair ranks #336,605 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of flies vs fuses
Shared letters: efs. Private to "flies": il. Private to "fuses": u.
"flies" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC · "fuses" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "flies" for "fuses" ever safe?
Which is more common, "flies" or "fuses"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "flies" and "fuses" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "flies" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fuses" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #336,605 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "flies" and "fuses" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fume vs fuses". 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 #336,605 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.