Which to use
“pare” is a verb and “pike” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,620
- “pare” frequency rank
- #11,580
- “pike” frequency rank
- 49200
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pare | pike |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To remove the outer covering or skin of something with a cutting device, typically a knife. | A very long spear used two-handed by infantry soldiers for thrusting (not throwing), both for attacks on enemy foot soldiers and as a countermeasure against cavalry assaults. |
Where the eye mixes pare and pike
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses pare with pike
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pare is /pɛə/ while pike is /paɪk/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49200, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pare is recorded at frequency rank #37,620, classified as averb, pronounced /pɛə/. pike is at rank #11,580, tagged as anoun, pronounced /paɪk/.
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 49200, this pair ranks #185,851 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pare vs pike
Shared letters: ep. Private to "pare": ar. Private to "pike": ik.
"pare" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "pike" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pare" and "pike" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "pare" or "pike"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "pare" and "pike" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "pare" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pike" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #185,851 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pare" and "pike" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pare vs Pyke". 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 #185,851 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.