Which to use
“peaked” is an adjective and “peeked” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,023
- “peaked” frequency rank
- #44,994
- “peeked” frequency rank
- 60017
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | peaked | peeked |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Having a peak or peaks. | simple past and past participle of peek |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set peaked and peeked apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: peaked and peeked carry the same recorded pronunciation, /piːkt/. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by a single letter - a in “peaked” becomes e in “peeked”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60017, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
peaked is recorded at frequency rank #15,023, classified as anadj, pronounced /piːkt/. peeked is at rank #44,994, tagged as averb, pronounced /piːkt/.
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 60017, this pair ranks #102,688 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of peaked vs peeked
Shared letters: dekp. Private to "peaked": a. Private to "peeked": -.
"peaked" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "peeked" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "peaked" and "peeked" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "peaked" or "peeked"?
Remembering peaked vs peeked
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “peaked”; for a verb, it's “peeked”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “peaked” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable