gimmevsgummyWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: gimme is a contraction, gummy is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“gimme” is a contraction and “gummy” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#13,522
“gimme” frequency rank
#30,074
“gummy” frequency rank
43596
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gimme gummy
Definition Give me. Showing the gums.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gimme and gummy apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
gimme
5 ch
gummy

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gimme is /ˈɡɪmiː/ while gummy is /ˈɡʌmi/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (contraction vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43596, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gimme is recorded at frequency rank #13,522, classified as acontraction, pronounced /ˈɡɪmiː/. gummy is at rank #30,074, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈɡʌmi/.

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 43596, this pair ranks #238,491 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gimme vs gummy

Shared letters: gm. Private to "gimme": ei. Private to "gummy": uy.

"gimme" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "gummy" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gimmeggimme · gime · gimem · gmime · igmme
  • gummyggummy · gmumy · gummyy · gumy · gumym · ugmmy

Frequency comparison

gimme#13,522
gummy#30,074

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gimme" and "gummy" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gimme" is a contraction and "gummy" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "gimme" or "gummy"?
"gimme" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,522 in our English list, against #30,074 for "gummy". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering gimme vs gummy

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a contraction, it's “gimme”; for an adjective, it's “gummy”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “gimme” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list