Which to use
“peak” is a noun and “pesky” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,847
- “peak” frequency rank
- #25,528
- “pesky” frequency rank
- 28375
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | peak | pesky |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A point; the sharp end or top of anything that terminates in a point; as, the peak, or front, of a cap. | Annoying, troublesome, irritating (usually of an animal or child). |
Where the eye mixes peak and pesky
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: peak vs pesky
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: peak is /piːk/ while pesky is /ˈpɛski/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28375, 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/. pesky is at rank #25,528, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈpɛski/.
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 28375, this pair ranks #371,552 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of peak vs pesky
Shared letters: ekp. Private to "peak": a. Private to "pesky": sy.
"peak" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "pesky" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "peak" and "pesky" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "peak" vs "pesky" - which ranks higher?
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 "pesky" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #371,552 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "peak" and "pesky" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pesky vs Petey". 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 #371,552 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.