Pair or pear?
pair is a noun meaning “Two alike or identical things taken together; often followed by of”; pear is a noun meaning “An edible fruit produced by the pear tree, similar to an apple but typically…”. They sound the same (/pɛə/). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) pair is about 18 times as common as pear.
What is the difference between pair and pear?
| pair | pear | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb | noun |
| Meaning | Two alike or identical things taken together; often followed by of One of the constituent items that make up a pair To group into one or more sets of two | An edible fruit produced by the pear tree, similar to an apple but typically elongated towards the stem A type of fruit tree (Pyrus communis) An indigenous group in Cambodia and Thailand |
| Example | I couldn't decide which of the pair of designer shirts I preferred, so I bought the pair | none recorded |
| Forms | pairs | pears |
| Pronunciation | /pɛə/ /pɛɹ/ /peː/ | /pɛə/ /pɛː/ /pɛɹ/ |
| In writing | 52 times per million words | 3.0 times per million words |
Sources: pair and pear in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of pair and pear
pair
- 1
Two alike or identical things taken together; often followed by of
I couldn't decide which of the pair of designer shirts I preferred, so I bought the pair
- 2
To group into one or more sets of two
The wedding guests were paired boy/girl and groom's party/bride's party
- 3
One of the constituent items that make up a pair
- 4
to link two electronic devices wirelessly together, especially through a protocol such as Bluetooth
It was not possible to pair my smartphone with an incompatible smartwatch
- 5
Two people in a relationship, partnership or friendship
Spouses should make a great pair
- 6
To bring two (animals, notably dogs) together for mating
- 7
Used with binary nouns (often in the plural to indicate multiple instances, since such nouns are plural only, except in some technical contexts)
a pair of scissors; two pairs of spectacles; several pairs of jeans
- 8
To come together for mating
pear
- 1
An edible fruit produced by the pear tree, similar to an apple but typically elongated towards the stem
- 2
An indigenous group in Cambodia and Thailand
- 3
A type of fruit tree (Pyrus communis)
- 4
The wood of the pear tree (pearwood, pear wood)
- 5
Choke pear (a torture device)
- 6
avocado, alligator pear
- 7
A desaturated chartreuse yellow colour, like that of a pear
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, pair or pear?
pair appears 52 times per million words; pear 3.0 times per million words.
pair 52 times per million wordspear 3.0 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).