Which to use
“outgrow” and “outgrown” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #43,296
- “outgrow” frequency rank
- #36,268
- “outgrown” frequency rank
- 79564
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | outgrow | outgrown |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To become too big in size or too mature in age or outlook to continue to want, need, use, experience, or accept some object, practice, condition, belief, etc. | past participle of outgrow |
Where the eye mixes outgrow and outgrown
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. outgrow runs 7 letters (VVCCCVC) against outgrown's 8 (VVCCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses outgrow with outgrown
A purely visual mix-up. outgrow (/ˌaʊtˈɡɹəʊ/) and outgrown (/aʊtˈɡɹoʊn/) 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 extra letter(s) - “outgrow” sits inside “outgrown”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79564, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
outgrow is recorded at frequency rank #43,296, classified as averb, pronounced /ˌaʊtˈɡɹəʊ/. outgrown is at rank #36,268, tagged as averb, pronounced /aʊtˈɡɹoʊn/.
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 79564, this pair ranks #21,778 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of outgrow vs outgrown
Shared letters: gortuw. Private to "outgrow": -. Private to "outgrown": n.
"outgrow" · 7 letters · shape VVCCCVC · "outgrown" · 8 letters · shape VVCCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "outgrow" and "outgrown" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "outgrow" or "outgrown"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "outgrow" and "outgrown" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "outgrow" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "outgrown" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #21,778 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "outgrow" and "outgrown" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "outgrow vs outgrowth". 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 #21,778 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.