Which to use
“Hicks” is a name and “hips” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,530
- “Hicks” frequency rank
- #9,761
- “hips” frequency rank
- 23291
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Hicks | hips |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A surname originating as a patronymic derived from Hick, a medieval diminutive of Richard. | plural of hip |
Where the eye mixes Hicks and hips
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Hicks with hips
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Hicks is /hɪks/ while hips is /hɪps/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23291, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Hicks is recorded at frequency rank #13,530, classified as aname, pronounced /hɪks/. hips is at rank #9,761, tagged as anoun, pronounced /hɪps/.
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 23291, this pair ranks #410,409 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Hicks vs hips
Shared letters: his. Private to "Hicks": ck. Private to "hips": p.
"Hicks" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "hips" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Hicks" for "hips" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Hicks" or "hips"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Hicks" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hips" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #410,409 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Hicks" and "hips" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hic vs Hicks". 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 #410,409 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.