Which to use
“maim” is a verb and “maxima” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #44,918
- “maim” frequency rank
- #30,129
- “maxima” frequency rank
- 75047
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maim | maxima |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To wound seriously; to cause permanent loss of function of a limb or part of the body. | A music note typically equal to two longae (eight semibreves). |
Letter map: maim vs maxima
Shared letters muted; letters that set maim and maxima apart highlighted. Shared run: 4.
Grammar separator: maim vs maxima
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: maim is averb and maximaanoun. On the page they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 75047, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
maim is recorded at frequency rank #44,918, classified as averb, pronounced /meɪm/. maxima is at rank #30,129, tagged as anoun.
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 75047, this pair ranks #34,387 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of maim vs maxima
Shared letters: aim. Private to "maim": -. Private to "maxima": x.
"maim" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "maxima" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "maim" for "maxima" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "maim" or "maxima" show up more?
Useful next steps
You've compared "maim" and "maxima". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "maim" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "maxima" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #34,387 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "maim" and "maxima" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maim vs marl". 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 #34,387 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.