glancesvsglassesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#27,476
“glances” frequency rank
#4,021
“glasses” frequency rank
31497
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature glances glasses
Definition plural of glance plural of glass

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set glances and glasses apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
glances
7 ch
glasses

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. glances (/ˈɡlænsɪz/) and glasses (/ˈɡlɑːsɪz/) 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 31497, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

glances is recorded at frequency rank #27,476, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈɡlænsɪz/. glasses is at rank #4,021, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɡlɑːsɪz/.

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 31497, this pair ranks #345,616 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of glances vs glasses

Shared letters: aegls. Private to "glances": cn. Private to "glasses": -.

"glances" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "glasses" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • glancesgalnces · gglances · glacnes · glancces · glancess · glancse · glanecs · glannces
  • glassesgalsses · gglasses · glases · glasess · glassess · glassse · gllasses · glsases

Frequency comparison

glances#27,476
glasses#4,021

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "glances" and "glasses" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈɡlænsɪz/ versus /ˈɡlɑːsɪz/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "glances" or "glasses"?
"glasses" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,021 in our English list, against #27,476 for "glances". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering glances vs glasses

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “glances” 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