Which to use
“interest” and “interests” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #695
- “interest” frequency rank
- #2,208
- “interests” frequency rank
- 2903
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | interest | interests |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 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. | plural of interest |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set interest and interests apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
interest and interests form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “interest” sits inside “interests” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2903, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
interest is recorded at frequency rank #695, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈɪn.tɹɛst/. interests is at rank #2,208, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɪn.t(ə.)ɹɪsts/.
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 2903, this pair ranks #523,692 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "interest" and "interests" be used interchangeably?
Remembering interest vs interests
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 “interest” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable