Which to use
“outpost” and “output” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,434
- “outpost” frequency rank
- #3,442
- “output” frequency rank
- 20876
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | outpost | output |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A military post stationed at a distance from the main body of troops. | That which is produced by something, especially that which is produced within a particular time period or from a particular effort. |
Where the eye mixes outpost and output
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. outpost runs 7 letters (VVCCVCC) against output's 6 (VVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between outpost and output
A purely visual mix-up. outpost (/ˈaʊtˌpoʊst/) and output (/ˈaʊtpʊt/) 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 20876, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
outpost is recorded at frequency rank #17,434, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈaʊtˌpoʊst/. output is at rank #3,442, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈaʊtpʊt/.
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 20876, this pair ranks #428,021 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of outpost vs output
Shared letters: optu. Private to "outpost": s. Private to "output": -.
"outpost" · 7 letters · shape VVCCVCC · "output" · 6 letters · shape VVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "outpost" and "output" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "outpost" or "output" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "outpost" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "output" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #428,021 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "outpost" and "output" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "outlast vs outpost". 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 #428,021 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.