Which to use
“gland” and “glands” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,620
- “gland” frequency rank
- #17,371
- “glands” frequency rank
- 34991
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gland | glands |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A specialized cell, group of cells, or organ of endothelial origin in the human or animal body that synthesizes a chemical substance, such as hormones or breast milk, and releases it, often into the bloodstream (endocrine gland) or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface (exocrine gland). | plural of gland |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gland and glands apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. gland (/ɡlænd/) and glands (/ɡlændz/) 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) - “gland” sits inside “glands”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34991, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gland is recorded at frequency rank #17,620, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɡlænd/. glands is at rank #17,371, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɡlændz/.
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 34991, this pair ranks #315,878 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of gland vs glands
Shared letters: adgln. Private to "gland": -. Private to "glands": s.
"gland" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "glands" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "gland" and "glands" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "gland" or "glands"?
Remembering gland vs glands
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 “gland” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable