Which to use
“inning” and “innings” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,195
- “inning” frequency rank
- #6,923
- “innings” frequency rank
- 16118
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | inning | innings |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A period of play in which members of a visiting baseball team attempt to hit a baseball pitched by the opposing home team until three players are called out, followed by a similar attempt by members of the home baseball team against the visiting team's pitching. There are nine or more innings in a regulation baseball game. | One side's (from when the first player begins to bat, until the last player is out) or individual player's turn to bat or the runs scored during those durations. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set inning and innings apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. inning (/ˈɪnɪŋ/) and innings (/ˈɪn.ɪŋz/) 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) - “inning” sits inside “innings”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16118, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
inning is recorded at frequency rank #9,195, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈɪnɪŋ/. innings is at rank #6,923, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɪn.ɪŋz/.
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 16118, this pair ranks #459,773 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of inning vs innings
Shared letters: gin. Private to "inning": -. Private to "innings": s.
"inning" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC · "innings" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "inning" and "innings" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "inning" or "innings"?
Remembering inning vs innings
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 “inning” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable