Which to use
“hed” is a noun and “holed” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #44,253
- “hed” frequency rank
- #27,497
- “holed” frequency rank
- 71750
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hed | holed |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The headline of a news story. | simple past and past participle of hole |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hed and holed apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: hed is anoun and holedaverb. On the page they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71750, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hed is recorded at frequency rank #44,253, classified as anoun. holed is at rank #27,497, tagged as averb, pronounced /hoʊld/.
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 71750, this pair ranks #45,566 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of hed vs holed
Shared letters: deh. Private to "hed": -. Private to "holed": lo.
"hed" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "holed" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- holed ← hholed · hloed · hoeld · holde · holedd · holled · ohled
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hed" and "holed" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "hed" or "holed"?
Remembering hed vs holed
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “hed”; for a verb, it's “holed”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hed” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable