Which to use
“millions” is a num and “missions” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,304
- “millions” frequency rank
- #5,145
- “missions” frequency rank
- 7449
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | millions | missions |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of million | plural of mission |
Where the eye mixes millions and missions
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. millions and missions follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between millions and missions
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: millions is /ˈmɪljənz/ while missions is /ˈmɪʃənz/. 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 (num vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7449, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
millions is recorded at frequency rank #2,304, classified as anum, pronounced /ˈmɪljənz/. missions is at rank #5,145, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɪʃənz/.
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 7449, this pair ranks #507,060 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of millions vs missions
Shared letters: imnos. Private to "millions": l. Private to "missions": -.
"millions" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCC · "missions" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "millions" and "missions" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "millions" or "missions"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "millions" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "missions" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #507,060 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "millions" and "missions" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "millions vs millionth". 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 #507,060 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.