peeksvspicksWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: peeks is a verb, picks is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“peeks” is a verb and “picks” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#47,252
“peeks” frequency rank
#4,786
“picks” frequency rank
52038
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature peeks picks
Definition third-person singular simple present indicative of peek plural of pick

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set peeks and picks apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
peeks
5 ch
picks

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

peeks and picks form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52038, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

peeks is recorded at frequency rank #47,252, classified as averb, pronounced /piːks/. picks is at rank #4,786, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pɪks/.

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 52038, this pair ranks #160,374 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

peeks#47,252
picks#4,786

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "peeks" and "picks" be used interchangeably?
No, "peeks" and "picks" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering peeks vs picks

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “peeks”; for a noun, it's “picks”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “peeks” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list