Which to use
“makes” is a verb and “mats” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #330
- “makes” frequency rank
- #13,563
- “mats” frequency rank
- 13893
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | makes | mats |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | third-person singular simple present indicative of make | plural of mat |
Where the eye mixes makes and mats
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses makes with mats
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: makes is /meɪks/ while mats is /mæts/. 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 13893, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
makes is recorded at frequency rank #330, classified as averb, pronounced /meɪks/. mats is at rank #13,563, tagged as anoun, pronounced /mæts/.
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 13893, this pair ranks #473,279 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of makes vs mats
Shared letters: ams. Private to "makes": ek. Private to "mats": t.
"makes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "mats" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "makes" and "mats" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "makes" or "mats" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "makes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mats" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #473,279 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "makes" and "mats" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mats vs MGS". 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 #473,279 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.