Which to use
“picker” and “picket” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,420
- “picker” frequency rank
- #20,458
- “picket” frequency rank
- 49878
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | picker | picket |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Agent noun of pick; one who picks. | A stake driven into the ground. |
Where the eye mixes picker and picket
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses picker with picket
A purely visual mix-up. picker (/ˈpɪkə(ɹ)/) and picket (/ˈpɪkɪt/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - r in “picker” becomes t in “picket”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49878, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
picker is recorded at frequency rank #29,420, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɪkə(ɹ)/. picket is at rank #20,458, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɪkɪt/.
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 49878, this pair ranks #179,446 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of picker vs picket
Shared letters: ceikp. Private to "picker": r. Private to "picket": t.
"picker" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "picket" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "picker" for "picket" ever safe?
Which is more common, "picker" or "picket"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "picker" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "picket" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #179,446 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "picker" and "picket" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "picker vs pinter". 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 #179,446 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.