Which to use
“grind” and “grinds” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,795
- “grind” frequency rank
- #32,828
- “grinds” frequency rank
- 40623
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | grind | grinds |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To reduce to smaller pieces by crushing with lateral motion. | third-person singular simple present indicative of grind |
Where the eye mixes grind and grinds
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between grind and grinds
A purely visual mix-up. grind (/ˈɡɹaɪnd/) and grinds (/ɡɹaɪndz/) 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) - “grind” sits inside “grinds”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40623, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
grind is recorded at frequency rank #7,795, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈɡɹaɪnd/. grinds is at rank #32,828, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɡɹaɪndz/.
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 40623, this pair ranks #265,874 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of grind vs grinds
Shared letters: dginr. Private to "grind": -. Private to "grinds": s.
"grind" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "grinds" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "grind" and "grinds" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "grind" vs "grinds" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "grind" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "grinds" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #265,874 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "grind" and "grinds" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "grinds vs gringo". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #265,874 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.