Which to use
“paces” and “patches” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,348
- “paces” frequency rank
- #8,840
- “patches” frequency rank
- 32188
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | paces | patches |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of pace | plural of patch |
Where the eye mixes paces and patches
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between paces and patches
A purely visual mix-up. paces (/ˈpeɪsɪz/) and patches (/ˈpæt͡ʃɪz/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32188, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
paces is recorded at frequency rank #23,348, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpeɪsɪz/. patches is at rank #8,840, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpæt͡ʃɪz/.
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 32188, this pair ranks #339,919 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of paces vs patches
Shared letters: aceps. Private to "paces": -. Private to "patches": ht.
"paces" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "patches" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "paces" and "patches" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "paces" vs "patches" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "paces" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "patches" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #339,919 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "paces" and "patches" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "paces vs pecs". 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 #339,919 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.