Which to use
“pacing” and “picking” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,386
- “pacing” frequency rank
- #3,383
- “picking” frequency rank
- 21769
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pacing | picking |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | present participle and gerund of pace | present participle and gerund of pick |
Where the eye mixes pacing and picking
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses pacing with picking
A purely visual mix-up. pacing (/ˈpeɪsɪŋ/) and picking (/ˈpɪkɪŋ/) 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 21769, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pacing is recorded at frequency rank #18,386, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈpeɪsɪŋ/. picking is at rank #3,383, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈpɪkɪŋ/.
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 21769, this pair ranks #421,471 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pacing vs picking
Shared letters: cginp. Private to "pacing": a. Private to "picking": k.
"pacing" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "picking" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pacing" and "picking" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "pacing" or "picking"?
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 "pacing" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "picking" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #421,471 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pacing" and "picking" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pacing vs prancing". 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 #421,471 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.