metsvsMrsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“mets” and “Mrs” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#11,568
“mets” frequency rank
#1,372
“Mrs” frequency rank
12940
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mets Mrs
Definition Clipping of metastases. Abbreviation of Missus or Mistress; used before an adult woman's name or surname, used for any high-status woman without regard to marital status until the 1800s, after which it began to be reserved for married, divorced and widowed women and used with their married surnames.

Where the eye mixes mets and Mrs

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
mets
3 ch
Mrs

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mets (/mɛts/) and Mrs (/ˈmɪsɪz/) 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 12940, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mets is recorded at frequency rank #11,568, classified as anoun, pronounced /mɛts/. Mrs is at rank #1,372, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɪsɪz/.

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 12940, this pair ranks #478,654 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of mets vs Mrs

Shared letters: ms. Private to "mets": et. Private to "Mrs": r.

"mets" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Mrs" · 3 letters · shape CCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • metsemts · mest · metss · metts · mmets · mtes

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mets" and "Mrs" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/mɛts/ versus /ˈmɪsɪz/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mets" or "Mrs"?
"Mrs" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,372 in our English list, against #11,568 for "mets". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list