Which to use
“labor” and “laborer” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,763
- “labor” frequency rank
- #33,304
- “laborer” frequency rank
- 35067
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | labor | laborer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Alternative spelling of labour. | One who labors. |
Where the eye mixes labor and laborer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. labor runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against laborer's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses labor with laborer
A purely visual mix-up. labor (/ˈleɪ.bɚ/) and laborer (/ˈleɪ.bɚ.ɹɚ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “labor” sits inside “laborer”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35067, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
labor is recorded at frequency rank #1,763, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈleɪ.bɚ/. laborer is at rank #33,304, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈleɪ.bɚ.ɹɚ/.
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 35067, this pair ranks #315,181 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of labor vs laborer
Shared letters: ablor. Private to "labor": -. Private to "laborer": e.
"labor" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "laborer" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "labor" and "laborer" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "labor" or "laborer"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "labor" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "laborer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #315,181 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "labor" and "laborer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "laborer vs layover". 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 #315,181 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.