Which to use
“heads” is an intj and “heave” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,159
- “heads” frequency rank
- #32,841
- “heave” frequency rank
- 35000
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | heads | heave |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A shouted warning that something is falling from above, mind your heads; heads-up. | To lift with difficulty; to raise with some effort; to lift (a heavy thing). |
Where the eye mixes heads and heave
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. heads (CVVCC) and heave (CVVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: heads vs heave
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: heads is /hɛdz/ while heave is /hiːv/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (intj vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35000, 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/. heave is at rank #32,841, tagged as averb, pronounced /hiːv/.
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 35000, this pair ranks #315,795 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of heads vs heave
Shared letters: aeh. Private to "heads": ds. Private to "heave": v.
"heads" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "heave" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "heads" for "heave" ever safe?
Which is more common, "heads" or "heave"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "heads" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "heave" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #315,795 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "heads" and "heave" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "heave vs Hoare". 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 #315,795 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.