Which to use
“heads” is an intj and “heats” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,159
- “heads” frequency rank
- #16,931
- “heats” frequency rank
- 19090
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | heads | heats |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A shouted warning that something is falling from above, mind your heads; heads-up. | third-person singular simple present indicative of heat |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set heads and heats apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
heads and heats form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by a single letter - d in “heads” becomes t in “heats” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19090, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
heads is recorded at frequency rank #2,159, classified as anintj, pronounced /hɛdz/. heats is at rank #16,931, tagged as averb, pronounced /hiːts/.
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 19090, this pair ranks #440,591 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "heads" and "heats" be used interchangeably?
Remembering heads vs heats
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an intj, it's “heads”; for a verb, it's “heats”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “heads” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable