Which to use
“McGrath” is a name and “migrate” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20,704
- “McGrath” frequency rank
- #16,531
- “migrate” frequency rank
- 37235
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | McGrath | migrate |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A surname from Irish. | To relocate periodically from one region to another, usually according to the seasons. |
Where the eye mixes McGrath and migrate
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between McGrath and migrate
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: McGrath is /məˈɡɹɔː/ while migrate is /maɪˈɡɹeɪt/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37235, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
McGrath is recorded at frequency rank #20,704, classified as aname, pronounced /məˈɡɹɔː/. migrate is at rank #16,531, tagged as averb, pronounced /maɪˈɡɹeɪt/.
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 37235, this pair ranks #296,266 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of McGrath vs migrate
Shared letters: agmrt. Private to "McGrath": ch. Private to "migrate": ei.
"McGrath" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVCC · "migrate" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "McGrath" for "migrate" ever safe?
Frequency check: "McGrath" vs "migrate" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "McGrath" and "migrate" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "McGrath" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "migrate" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #296,266 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "McGrath" and "migrate" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "magnate vs migrate". 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 #296,266 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.