Which to use
“increase” is a verb and “increases” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #877
- “increase” frequency rank
- #3,239
- “increases” frequency rank
- 4116
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | increase | increases |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (of a quantity, etc.) To become larger or greater, to greaten. | plural of increase |
Where the eye mixes increase and increases
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses increase with increases
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: increase is /ɪnˈkɹiːs/ while increases is /ɪnˈkɹisɪz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “increase” sits inside “increases”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4116, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
increase is recorded at frequency rank #877, classified as averb, pronounced /ɪnˈkɹiːs/. increases is at rank #3,239, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɪnˈkɹisɪz/.
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 4116, this pair ranks #519,943 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of increase vs increases
Shared letters: aceinrs. Private to "increase": -. Private to "increases": -.
"increase" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVVCV · "increases" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "increase" and "increases" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "increase" or "increases" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "increase" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "increases" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #519,943 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "increase" and "increases" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "incase vs increase". 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 #519,943 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.