Which to use
“keyed” is a verb and “keypad” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,301
- “keyed” frequency rank
- #35,375
- “keypad” frequency rank
- 68676
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | keyed | keypad |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of key | A small board with keys primarily used for tactile input into a machine. |
Where the eye mixes keyed and keypad
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: keyed vs keypad
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: keyed is /kiːd/ while keypad is /ˈkiːpæd/. 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 68676, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
keyed is recorded at frequency rank #33,301, classified as averb, pronounced /kiːd/. keypad is at rank #35,375, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkiːpæd/.
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 68676, this pair ranks #57,820 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of keyed vs keypad
Shared letters: deky. Private to "keyed": -. Private to "keypad": ap.
"keyed" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC · "keypad" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "keyed" and "keypad" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "keyed" vs "keypad" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "keyed" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "keypad" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #57,820 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "keyed" and "keypad" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "keyed vs Keyes". 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 #57,820 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.