gustovsgustsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#28,940
“gusto” frequency rank
#23,852
“gusts” frequency rank
52792
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gusto gusts
Definition Enthusiasm; enjoyment, vigor. plural of gust

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gusto and gusts apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
gusto
5 ch
gusts

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. gusto (/ˈɡʌstəʊ/) 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 a single letter - o in “gusto” becomes s in “gusts”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52792, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gusto is recorded at frequency rank #28,940, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈɡʌstəʊ/. 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 52792, this pair ranks #154,182 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gusto vs gusts

Shared letters: gstu. Private to "gusto": o. Private to "gusts": -.

"gusto" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "gusts" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gustoggusto · gsuto · gusot · gussto · gustto · gutso · ugsto
  • gustsggusts · gsuts · gusst · gussts · gustss · gustts · ugsts

Frequency comparison

gusto#28,940
gusts#23,852

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gusto" and "gusts" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈɡʌstəʊ/ versus /ɡʌsts/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gusto" or "gusts"?
"gusts" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,852 in our English list, against #28,940 for "gusto". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering gusto vs gusts

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 “gusto” 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