Which to use
“grab” is a verb and “grabs” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,896
- “grab” frequency rank
- #10,704
- “grabs” frequency rank
- 13600
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | grab | grabs |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To grip suddenly; to seize; to clutch. | plural of grab |
Where the eye mixes grab and grabs
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: grab is /ɡɹæb/ while grabs is /ɡɹæbz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “grab” sits inside “grabs”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13600, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
grab is recorded at frequency rank #2,896, classified as averb, pronounced /ɡɹæb/. grabs is at rank #10,704, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɡɹæbz/.
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 13600, this pair ranks #474,843 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of grab vs grabs
Shared letters: abgr. Private to "grab": -. Private to "grabs": s.
"grab" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "grabs" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC