hundreds vs hundredth, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#2,447
“hundreds” frequency rank: #36,609
“hundredth” frequency rank: 39056
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	hundreds	hundredth
Definition	plural of hundred	The ordinal form of the number one hundred.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hundreds and hundredth apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch

hundreds

9 ch

hundredth

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hundreds is /ˈhʌn.dɹədz/ while hundredth is /ˈhʌndɹə(d)θ/. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39056, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hundreds is recorded at frequency rank #2,447, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈhʌn.dɹədz/. hundredth is at rank #36,609, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈhʌndɹə(d)θ/.

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 39056, this pair ranks #280,253 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of hundreds vs hundredth

Shared letters: dehnru. Private to "hundreds": s. Private to "hundredth": t.

"hundreds" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCC · "hundredth" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

hundreds ← hhundreds · hnudreds · hudnreds · hunddreds · hunderds · hundrdes · hundredds · hundredss
hundredth ← hhundredth · hnudredth · hudnredth · hunddredth · hunderdth · hundrdeth · hundreddth · hundredht

Frequency comparison

hundreds#2,447

hundredth#36,609

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hundreds" and "hundredth" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "hundreds" is a noun and "hundredth" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "hundreds" or "hundredth"?

"hundreds" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,447 in our English list, against #36,609 for "hundredth". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering hundreds vs hundredth

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “hundreds”; for an adjective, it's “hundredth”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hundreds” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable