Which to use
“intercept” is a verb and “interest” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,542
- “intercept” frequency rank
- #695
- “interest” frequency rank
- 14237
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | intercept | interest |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To stop, deflect or divert (something in progress or motion). | The price paid for obtaining, or price received for providing, money or goods in a credit transaction, calculated as a fraction of the amount or value of what was borrowed. |
Where the eye mixes intercept and interest
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: intercept vs interest
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: intercept is /ɪntəˈsɛpt/ while interest is /ˈɪn.tɹɛst/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14237, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
intercept is recorded at frequency rank #13,542, classified as averb, pronounced /ɪntəˈsɛpt/. interest is at rank #695, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɪn.tɹɛst/.
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 14237, this pair ranks #471,227 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of intercept vs interest
Shared letters: einrt. Private to "intercept": cp. Private to "interest": s.
"intercept" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC · "interest" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "intercept" and "interest" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "intercept" or "interest" 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 "intercept" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "interest" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #471,227 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "intercept" and "interest" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "intercede vs intercept". 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 #471,227 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.