growthvsgrowthsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“growth” and “growths” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#992
“growth” frequency rank
#39,339
“growths” frequency rank
40331
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature growth growths
Definition An increase in size, number, value, or strength. plural of growth

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set growth and growths apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
growth
7 ch
growths

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. growth (/ɡɹoʊθ/) and growths (/ɡɹoʊθs/) 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) - “growth” sits inside “growths”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40331, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

growth is recorded at frequency rank #992, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɡɹoʊθ/. 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 40331, this pair ranks #268,584 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of growth vs growths

Shared letters: ghortw. Private to "growth": -. Private to "growths": s.

"growth" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC  ·  "growths" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • growthggrowth · gorwth · grotwh · growht · growthh · growtth · growwth · grrowth
  • growthsggrowths · gorwths · grotwhs · growhts · growthhs · growthss · growtsh · growtths

Frequency comparison

growth#992
growths#39,339

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "growth" and "growths" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ɡɹoʊθ/ versus /ɡɹoʊθs/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "growth" or "growths"?
"growth" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #992 in our English list, against #39,339 for "growths". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering growth vs growths

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “growth” 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