Which to use
“mains” and “mazes” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,070
- “mains” frequency rank
- #42,261
- “mazes” frequency rank
- 58331
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mains | mazes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of main | plural of maze |
Where the eye mixes mains and mazes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. mains (CVVCC) and mazes (CVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between mains and mazes
A purely visual mix-up. mains (/meɪnz/) and mazes (/ˈmeɪzɪz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58331, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mains is recorded at frequency rank #16,070, classified as anoun, pronounced /meɪnz/. mazes is at rank #42,261, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmeɪzɪz/.
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 58331, this pair ranks #113,285 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of mains vs mazes
Shared letters: ams. Private to "mains": in. Private to "mazes": ez.
"mains" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "mazes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mains" and "mazes" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "mains" or "mazes"?
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 "mains" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mazes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #113,285 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mains" and "mazes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "magus vs mazes". 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 #113,285 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.