Which to use
“mate” and “metre” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,743
- “mate” frequency rank
- #10,237
- “metre” frequency rank
- 12980
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mate | metre |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A fellow, comrade, colleague, partner or someone with whom something is shared, e.g. shipmate, classmate. | The basic unit of length in the International System of Units (SI: Système International d'Unités), equal to the distance travelled by light in a vacuum in 1/299 792 458 seconds. The metre is equal to 39+⁴⁷⁄₁₂₇ (approximately 39.37) imperial inches. |
Where the eye mixes mate and metre
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between mate and metre
A purely visual mix-up. mate (/meɪt/) and metre (/ˈmiːtə/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12980, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mate is recorded at frequency rank #2,743, classified as anoun, pronounced /meɪt/. metre is at rank #10,237, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmiːtə/.
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 12980, this pair ranks #478,419 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mate vs metre
Shared letters: emt. Private to "mate": a. Private to "metre": r.
"mate" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "metre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mate" and "metre" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "mate" or "metre"?
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 "mate" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "metre" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #478,419 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mate" and "metre" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Merv vs metre". 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 #478,419 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.