Which to use
“pecking” is a verb and “pickings” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,787
- “pecking” frequency rank
- #43,845
- “pickings” frequency rank
- 77632
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pecking | pickings |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | present participle and gerund of peck | plural of picking |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pecking and pickings apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pecking is /ˈpɛkɪŋ/ while pickings is /ˈpɪkɪŋz/. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 77632, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pecking is recorded at frequency rank #33,787, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈpɛkɪŋ/. pickings is at rank #43,845, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɪkɪŋz/.
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 77632, this pair ranks #26,731 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of pecking vs pickings
Shared letters: cgiknp. Private to "pecking": e. Private to "pickings": s.
"pecking" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "pickings" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pecking" and "pickings" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "pecking" or "pickings"?
Remembering pecking vs pickings
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “pecking”; for a noun, it's “pickings”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “pecking” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable