Which to use
“gust” and “gusts” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,398
- “gust” frequency rank
- #23,852
- “gusts” frequency rank
- 49250
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gust | gusts |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A strong, abrupt rush of wind. | plural of gust |
Where the eye mixes gust and gusts
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. gust runs 4 letters (CVCC) against gusts's 5 (CVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: gust vs gusts
A purely visual mix-up. gust (/ɡʌst/) and gusts (/ɡʌsts/) 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) - “gust” sits inside “gusts”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49250, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gust is recorded at frequency rank #25,398, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɡʌst/. gusts is at rank #23,852, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɡʌsts/.
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 49250, this pair ranks #185,403 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of gust vs gusts
Shared letters: gstu. Private to "gust": -. Private to "gusts": -.
"gust" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "gusts" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "gust" and "gusts" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "gust" vs "gusts" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "gust" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gusts" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #185,403 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gust" and "gusts" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Geist vs gust". 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 #185,403 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.