Which to use
“include” and “includes” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #620
- “include” frequency rank
- #1,171
- “includes” frequency rank
- 1791
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | include | includes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To bring into a group, class, set, or total as a (new) part or member. | third-person singular simple present indicative of include |
Where the eye mixes include and includes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between include and includes
A purely visual mix-up. include (/ɪnˈkluːd/) and includes (/ɪnˈkluːdz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “include” sits inside “includes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1791, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
include is recorded at frequency rank #620, classified as averb, pronounced /ɪnˈkluːd/. includes is at rank #1,171, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɪnˈkluːdz/.
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 1791, this pair ranks #526,649 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of include vs includes
Shared letters: cdeilnu. Private to "include": -. Private to "includes": s.
"include" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCV · "includes" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "include" and "includes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "include" or "includes" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "include" and "includes" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "include" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "includes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #526,649 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "include" and "includes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "include vs intrude". 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 #526,649 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.