jumpedvsjumpsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: jumped is a verb, jumps is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“jumped” is a verb and “jumps” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,683
“jumped” frequency rank
#8,810
“jumps” frequency rank
13493
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature jumped jumps
Definition simple past and past participle of jump plural of jump

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set jumped and jumps apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
jumped
5 ch
jumps

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: jumped is /d͡ʒʌmpt/ while jumps is /d͡ʒʌmps/. 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 13493, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

jumped is recorded at frequency rank #4,683, classified as averb, pronounced /d͡ʒʌmpt/. jumps is at rank #8,810, tagged as anoun, pronounced /d͡ʒʌmps/.

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 13493, this pair ranks #475,453 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of jumped vs jumps

Shared letters: jmpu. Private to "jumped": de. Private to "jumps": s.

"jumped" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "jumps" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • jumpedjjumped · jmuped · jumepd · jummped · jumpde · jumpedd · jumpped · jupmed
  • jumpsjjumps · jmups · jummps · jumpps · jumpss · jumsp · jupms · ujmps

Frequency comparison

jumped#4,683
jumps#8,810

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "jumped" and "jumps" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "jumped" is a verb and "jumps" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "jumped" or "jumps"?
"jumped" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,683 in our English list, against #8,810 for "jumps". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering jumped vs jumps

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “jumped”; for a noun, it's “jumps”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “jumped” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list