Which to use
“holden” is a verb and “holds” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,439
- “holden” frequency rank
- #2,488
- “holds” frequency rank
- 14927
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | holden | holds |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | past participle of hold | plural of hold |
Letter map: holden vs holds
Shared letters muted; letters that set holden and holds apart highlighted. Shared run: 4. holden runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against holds's 5 (CVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Grammar separator: holden vs holds
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: holden is averb and holdsanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14927, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
holden is recorded at frequency rank #12,439, classified as averb. holds is at rank #2,488, tagged as anoun, pronounced /həʊldz/.
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 14927, this pair ranks #467,104 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of holden vs holds
Shared letters: dhlo. Private to "holden": en. Private to "holds": s.
"holden" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "holds" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "holden" for "holds" ever safe?
Which is more common, "holden" or "holds"?
After this comparison
Pair "holden" vs "holds" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "holden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "holds" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #467,104 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "holden" and "holds" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "holden vs Holton". 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 #467,104 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.