packvspecWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“pack” and “pec” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,224
“pack” frequency rank
#47,251
“pec” frequency rank
49475
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pack pec
Definition A bundle made up and prepared to be carried; especially, a bundle to be carried on the back, but also a load for an animal, a bale. The pectoralis major muscle.

Letter map: pack vs pec

Shared letters muted; letters that set pack and pec apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.

4 ch
pack
3 ch
pec

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

pack and pec are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49475, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pack is recorded at frequency rank #2,224, classified as anoun, pronounced /pæk/. pec is at rank #47,251, tagged as anoun.

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 49475, this pair ranks #183,229 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pack vs pec

Shared letters: cp. Private to "pack": ak. Private to "pec": e.

"pack" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "pec" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • packapck · pacck · packk · pakc · pcak · ppack

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pack" and "pec" be used interchangeably?
No. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "pack" or "pec"?
"pack" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,224 in our English list, against #47,251 for "pec". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list