Which to use
“meiosis” and “mitosis” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #49,486
- “meiosis” frequency rank
- #46,071
- “mitosis” frequency rank
- 95557
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | meiosis | mitosis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A figure of speech whereby something is made to seem smaller or less important than it actually is. | The division of a cell nucleus in which the genome is copied and separated into two identical halves. It is normally followed by cell division. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set meiosis and mitosis apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. meiosis (/maɪˈəʊ.sɪs/) and mitosis (/maɪˈtəʊ.sɪs/) 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 95557, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
meiosis is recorded at frequency rank #49,486, classified as anoun, pronounced /maɪˈəʊ.sɪs/. mitosis is at rank #46,071, tagged as anoun, pronounced /maɪˈtəʊ.sɪs/.
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 95557, this pair ranks #905 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of meiosis vs mitosis
Shared letters: imos. Private to "meiosis": e. Private to "mitosis": t.
"meiosis" · 7 letters · shape CVVVCVC · "mitosis" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "meiosis" and "mitosis" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "meiosis" or "mitosis"?
Remembering meiosis vs mitosis
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “meiosis” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable