Which to use
“installment” and “instalment” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,369
- “installment” frequency rank
- #27,513
- “instalment” frequency rank
- 40882
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | installment | instalment |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | One of a series of parts, whether equal or unequal to the other parts of the series, of a given entity or a given process, which part presents or is presented at a particular scheduled interval. | Australia, British, and Canada standard spelling of installment. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set installment and instalment apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
This is the hard kind. installment and instalment are pronounced identically (/ɪnˈstɔːl.mənt/) and both work as anoun. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40882, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
installment is recorded at frequency rank #13,369, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɪnˈstɔːl.mənt/. instalment is at rank #27,513, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɪnˈstɔːlmənt/.
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 40882, this pair ranks #263,566 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of installment vs instalment
Shared letters: aeilmnst. Private to "installment": -. Private to "instalment": -.
"installment" · 11 letters · shape VCCCVCCCVCC · "instalment" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- installment ← innstallment · insatllment · insstallment · installemnt · installmennt · installmentt · installmetn · installmment
- instalment ← innstalment · insatlment · insstalment · instalemnt · instalmennt · instalmentt · instalmetn · instalmment
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "installment" and "instalment" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "installment" or "instalment"?
Remembering installment vs instalment
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 “installment” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable