import vs imports, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“import” and “imports” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#6,061
“import” frequency rank: #8,557
“imports” frequency rank: 14618
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	import	imports
Definition	Something brought in from an exterior source, especially for sale or trade.	plural of import

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set import and imports apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

import

7 ch

imports

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

import and imports are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “import” sits inside “imports”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14618, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

import is recorded at frequency rank #6,061, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈɪm.pɔːt/. imports is at rank #8,557, tagged as anoun.

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 14618, this pair ranks #468,952 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of import vs imports

Shared letters: imoprt. Private to "import": -. Private to "imports": s.

"import" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC · "imports" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

import ← immport · imoprt · imporrt · importt · impotr · impport · improt · ipmort
imports ← immports · imoprts · imporrts · imporst · importss · importts · impotrs · impports

Frequency comparison

import#6,061

imports#8,557

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "import" and "imports" be used interchangeably?

No. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “import” sits inside “imports”, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.

Which is more common, "import" or "imports"?

"import" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,061 in our English list, against #8,557 for "imports". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering import vs imports

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “import” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable