Which to use
“peak” and “ped” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,847
- “peak” frequency rank
- #35,872
- “ped” frequency rank
- 38719
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | peak | ped |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A point; the sharp end or top of anything that terminates in a point; as, the peak, or front, of a cap. | A pedestrian. |
Where the eye mixes peak and ped
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses peak with ped
A purely visual mix-up. peak (/piːk/) and ped (/pɛd/) 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 38719, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
peak is recorded at frequency rank #2,847, classified as anoun, pronounced /piːk/. ped is at rank #35,872, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pɛd/.
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 38719, this pair ranks #283,415 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of peak vs ped
Shared letters: ep. Private to "peak": ak. Private to "ped": d.
"peak" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "ped" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- peak ← epak · paek · peakk · peka · ppeak
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "peak" and "ped" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "peak" or "ped"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "peak" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ped" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #283,415 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "peak" and "ped" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ped vs PPA". 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 #283,415 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.