goopvsgroupWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#46,488
“goop” frequency rank
#241
“group” frequency rank
46729
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature goop group
Definition A thick, slimy substance; goo. A number of things or persons being in some relation to one another.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
goop
5 ch
group

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. goop (/ɡuːp/) and group (/ɡɹuːp/) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46729, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

goop is recorded at frequency rank #46,488, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɡuːp/. group is at rank #241, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɡɹuːp/.

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 46729, this pair ranks #209,025 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of goop vs group

Shared letters: gop. Private to "goop": -. Private to "group": ru.

"goop" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "group" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • goopggoop · goopp · gopo · ogop
  • groupggroup · gorup · gropu · groupp · grroup · gruop · rgoup

Frequency comparison

goop#46,488
group#241

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "goop" and "group" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ɡuːp/ versus /ɡɹuːp/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "goop" or "group"?
"group" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #241 in our English list, against #46,488 for "goop". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering goop vs group

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 “goop” 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