Which to use
“overlap” and “overran” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,259
- “overlap” frequency rank
- #41,294
- “overran” frequency rank
- 52553
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | overlap | overran |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To extend over and partly cover something. | simple past of overrun |
Where the eye mixes overlap and overran
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between overlap and overran
A purely visual mix-up. overlap (/ˌəʊvəˈlæp/) and overran (/ˌəʊ.vəˈɹæn/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52553, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
overlap is recorded at frequency rank #11,259, classified as averb, pronounced /ˌəʊvəˈlæp/. overran is at rank #41,294, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˌəʊ.vəˈɹæn/.
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 52553, this pair ranks #156,081 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of overlap vs overran
Shared letters: aeorv. Private to "overlap": lp. Private to "overran": n.
"overlap" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC · "overran" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "overlap" and "overran" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "overlap" or "overran"?
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 "overlap" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "overran" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #156,081 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "overlap" and "overran" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "overhang vs overran". 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 #156,081 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.