grovsgrogWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: gro is a adjective, grog is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“gro” is an adjective and “grog” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#42,164
“gro” frequency rank
#44,236
“grog” frequency rank
86400
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gro grog
Definition Disgusting, unpleasant; gross. An alcoholic beverage made with rum and water, especially that once issued to sailors of the Royal Navy.

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
gro
4 ch
grog

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gro is /ˈɡrəʊ/ while grog is /ɡɹɒɡ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “gro” sits inside “grog”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 86400, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gro is recorded at frequency rank #42,164, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈɡrəʊ/. grog is at rank #44,236, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɡɹɒɡ/.

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 86400, this pair ranks #9,016 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of gro vs grog

Shared letters: gor. Private to "gro": -. Private to "grog": -.

"gro" · 3 letters · shape CCV  ·  "grog" · 4 letters · shape CCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • grogggrog · gorg · grgo · grogg · grrog · rgog

Frequency comparison

gro#42,164
grog#44,236

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gro" and "grog" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gro" is an adjective and "grog" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "gro" or "grog"?
"gro" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #42,164 in our English list, against #44,236 for "grog". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering gro vs grog

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “gro”; for a noun, it's “grog”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “gro” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list