Which to use
“mates” and “meter” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,248
- “mates” frequency rank
- #6,165
- “meter” frequency rank
- 13413
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mates | meter |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of mate | A device that measures things. |
Where the eye mixes mates and meter
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses mates with meter
A purely visual mix-up. mates (/meɪts/) and meter (/ˈmitəɹ/) 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 13413, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mates is recorded at frequency rank #7,248, classified as anoun, pronounced /meɪts/. meter is at rank #6,165, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmitəɹ/.
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 13413, this pair ranks #475,972 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mates vs meter
Shared letters: emt. Private to "mates": as. Private to "meter": r.
"mates" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "meter" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "mates" and "meter" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "mates" vs "meter" - which ranks higher?
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 "mates" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "meter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #475,972 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mates" and "meter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "meter vs miser". 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 #475,972 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.