growsvsgrowthsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: grows is a verb, growths is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“grows” is a verb and “growths” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,331
“grows” frequency rank
#39,339
“growths” frequency rank
44670
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature grows growths
Definition third-person singular simple present indicative of grow plural of growth

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set grows and growths apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
grows
7 ch
growths

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: grows is /ɡɹəʊz/ while growths is /ɡɹoʊθs/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44670, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

grows is recorded at frequency rank #5,331, classified as averb, pronounced /ɡɹəʊz/. growths is at rank #39,339, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɡɹoʊθs/.

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 44670, this pair ranks #228,398 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of grows vs growths

Shared letters: gorsw. Private to "grows": -. Private to "growths": ht.

"grows" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "growths" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • growsggrows · gorws · grosw · growss · growws · grrows · grwos · rgows
  • growthsggrowths · gorwths · grotwhs · growhts · growthhs · growthss · growtsh · growtths

Frequency comparison

grows#5,331
growths#39,339

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "grows" and "growths" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "grows" is a verb and "growths" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "grows" or "growths"?
"grows" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,331 in our English list, against #39,339 for "growths". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering grows vs growths

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “grows”; for a noun, it's “growths”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “grows” 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