Which to use
“fuse” and “fuses” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,605
- “fuse” frequency rank
- #26,436
- “fuses” frequency rank
- 39041
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fuse | fuses |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A cord that, when lit, conveys the fire to some explosive device, such as a bomb. | plural of fuse |
Where the eye mixes fuse and fuses
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses fuse with fuses
A purely visual mix-up. fuse (/fjuːz/) 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 differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “fuse” sits inside “fuses”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39041, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fuse is recorded at frequency rank #12,605, classified as anoun, pronounced /fjuːz/. 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 39041, this pair ranks #280,394 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fuse vs fuses
Shared letters: efsu. Private to "fuse": -. Private to "fuses": -.
"fuse" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "fuses" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fuse" and "fuses" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "fuse" or "fuses"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "fuse" 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 #280,394 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fuse" 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 #280,394 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.