Which to use
“host” is a noun and “hosted” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,758
- “host” frequency rank
- #4,678
- “hosted” frequency rank
- 6436
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | host | hosted |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | One which receives or entertains a guest, socially, commercially, or officially. | simple past and past participle of host |
Where the eye mixes host and hosted
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between host and hosted
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: host is /həʊst/ while hosted is /ˈhoʊstɪd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “host” sits inside “hosted”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6436, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
host is recorded at frequency rank #1,758, classified as anoun, pronounced /həʊst/. hosted is at rank #4,678, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈhoʊstɪd/.
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 6436, this pair ranks #511,430 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of host vs hosted
Shared letters: host. Private to "host": -. Private to "hosted": de.
"host" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "hosted" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "host" and "hosted" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "host" vs "hosted" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "host" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hosted" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #511,430 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "host" and "hosted" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hosea vs hosted". 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 #511,430 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.