# phosphatase vs phosphate

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### phosphatase
*noun · frequency rank #47,255*
Any of several enzymes that hydrolyze phosphate esters, and are important in the metabolism of carbohydrates, nucleotides and phospholipids, and in the formation of bone.

### phosphate
*noun · IPA /ˈfɒsfeɪt/ · frequency rank #16,770*
Any salt or ester of phosphoric acid.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/phosphatase-vs-phosphate