Which to use
“machine” and “machinery” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,346
- “machine” frequency rank
- #6,932
- “machinery” frequency rank
- 8278
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | machine | machinery |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A device that directs and controls energy, often in the form of movement or electricity, to produce a certain effect. | The machines constituting a production apparatus, in a plant etc., collectively. |
Where the eye mixes machine and machinery
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: machine vs machinery
A purely visual mix-up. machine (/məˈʃiːn/) and machinery (/məˈʃiːnəɹi/) 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) - “machine” sits inside “machinery”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8278, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
machine is recorded at frequency rank #1,346, classified as anoun, pronounced /məˈʃiːn/. machinery is at rank #6,932, tagged as anoun, pronounced /məˈʃiːnəɹi/.
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 8278, this pair ranks #503,288 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of machine vs machinery
Shared letters: acehimn. Private to "machine": -. Private to "machinery": ry.
"machine" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "machinery" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "machine" and "machinery" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "machine" vs "machinery" - 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 "machine" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "machinery" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #503,288 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "machine" and "machinery" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "machine vs Manchin". 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 #503,288 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.