Which to use
“Grady” is a name and “gravy” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #24,174
- “Grady” frequency rank
- #15,418
- “gravy” frequency rank
- 39592
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Grady | gravy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A surname from Irish. | A thick sauce made from the fat or juices that come out from meat or vegetables as they are being cooked. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Grady and gravy apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Grady is /ˈɡɹeɪdi/ while gravy is /ˈɡɹeɪvi/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - d in “Grady” becomes v in “gravy”, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39592, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Grady is recorded at frequency rank #24,174, classified as aname, pronounced /ˈɡɹeɪdi/. gravy is at rank #15,418, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɡɹeɪvi/.
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 39592, this pair ranks #275,272 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Grady vs gravy
Shared letters: agry. Private to "Grady": d. Private to "gravy": v.
"Grady" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "gravy" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Grady" and "gravy" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Grady" or "gravy"?
Remembering Grady vs gravy
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a name, it's “Grady”; for a noun, it's “gravy”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Grady” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable