Which to use
“mutt” and “mutton” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,665
- “mutt” frequency rank
- #28,634
- “mutton” frequency rank
- 60299
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mutt | mutton |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A mongrel dog (or sometimes cat); an animal of mixed breed or uncertain origin. | The meat of sheep used as food; especially, that of adults. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mutt and mutton apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
mutt and mutton form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “mutt” sits inside “mutton” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60299, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mutt is recorded at frequency rank #31,665, classified as anoun, pronounced /mʌt/. mutton is at rank #28,634, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmʌt(ə)n/.
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 60299, this pair ranks #100,969 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mutt" and "mutton" be used interchangeably?
Remembering mutt vs mutton
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 “mutt” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable