hundredvshundredsTell them apart

Quick tell: hundred is a num, hundreds is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“hundred” is a num and “hundreds” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,000
“hundred” frequency rank
#2,447
“hundreds” frequency rank
4447
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hundred hundreds
Definition A numerical value equal to 100 (10²), occurring after ninety-nine. plural of hundred

Where the eye mixes hundred and hundreds

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. hundred runs 7 letters (CVCCCVC) against hundreds's 8 (CVCCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
hundred
8 ch
hundreds

Look-alike desk: hundred vs hundreds

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hundred is /ˈhʌn.dɹəd/ while hundreds is /ˈhʌn.dɹədz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “hundred” sits inside “hundreds”, and the parts of speech differ too (num vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4447, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hundred is recorded at frequency rank #2,000, classified as anum, pronounced /ˈhʌn.dɹəd/. hundreds is at rank #2,447, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈhʌn.dɹədz/.

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 4447, this pair ranks #518,895 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of hundred vs hundreds

Shared letters: dehnru. Private to "hundred": -. Private to "hundreds": s.

"hundred" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "hundreds" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • hundred ← hhundred · hnudred · hudnred · hunddred · hunderd · hundrde · hundredd · hundrred
  • hundreds ← hhundreds · hnudreds · hudnreds · hunddreds · hunderds · hundrdes · hundredds · hundredss

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "hundred" for "hundreds" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "hundred" is a num and "hundreds" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary English text, does "hundred" or "hundreds" show up more?
"hundred" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,000 in our English list, against #2,447 for "hundreds". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "hundred" and "hundreds" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "hundred" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "hundreds" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #518,895 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "hundred" and "hundreds" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hundreds vs huntress". 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 #518,895 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list