Which to use
“hints” and “hosts” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,944
- “hints” frequency rank
- #4,862
- “hosts” frequency rank
- 13806
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hints | hosts |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of hint | plural of host |
Where the eye mixes hints and hosts
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: hints vs hosts
A purely visual mix-up. hints (/hɪnts/) and hosts (/hoʊsts/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13806, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hints is recorded at frequency rank #8,944, classified as anoun, pronounced /hɪnts/. hosts is at rank #4,862, tagged as anoun, pronounced /hoʊsts/.
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 13806, this pair ranks #473,736 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of hints vs hosts
Shared letters: hst. Private to "hints": in. Private to "hosts": o.
"hints" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "hosts" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hints" and "hosts" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "hints" or "hosts"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "hints" and "hosts" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "hints" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hosts" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #473,736 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hints" and "hosts" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "HIIT vs hints". 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 #473,736 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.