mowedvsMowersWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: mowed is a verb, Mowers is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“mowed” is a verb and “Mowers” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#38,509
“mowed” frequency rank
#47,210
“Mowers” frequency rank
85719
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mowed Mowers
Definition simple past and past participle of mow A surname.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mowed and Mowers apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
mowed
6 ch
Mowers

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: mowed is averb and Mowersaname. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 85719, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mowed is recorded at frequency rank #38,509, classified as averb, pronounced /məʊd/. Mowers is at rank #47,210, tagged as aname.

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 85719, this pair ranks #9,954 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of mowed vs Mowers

Shared letters: emow. Private to "mowed": d. Private to "Mowers": rs.

"mowed" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Mowers" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mowedmmowed · moewd · mowde · mowedd · mowwed · mwoed · omwed
  • Mowersmmowers · moewrs · mowerrs · mowerss · mowesr · mowres · mowwers · mwoers

Frequency comparison

mowed#38,509
Mowers#47,210

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mowed" and "Mowers" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mowed" is a verb and "Mowers" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "mowed" or "Mowers"?
"mowed" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #38,509 in our English list, against #47,210 for "Mowers". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mowed vs Mowers

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “mowed”; for a name, it's “Mowers”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mowed” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list