Which to use
“picker” and “pike” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,420
- “picker” frequency rank
- #11,580
- “pike” frequency rank
- 41000
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | picker | pike |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Agent noun of pick; one who picks. | A very long spear used two-handed by infantry soldiers for thrusting (not throwing), both for attacks on enemy foot soldiers and as a countermeasure against cavalry assaults. |
Where the eye mixes picker and pike
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses picker with pike
A purely visual mix-up. picker (/ˈpɪkə(ɹ)/) and pike (/paɪk/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41000, 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)/. pike is at rank #11,580, tagged as anoun, pronounced /paɪk/.
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 41000, this pair ranks #262,442 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of picker vs pike
Shared letters: eikp. Private to "picker": cr. Private to "pike": -.
"picker" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "pike" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "picker" for "pike" ever safe?
Which is more common, "picker" or "pike"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "picker" and "pike" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "picker" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pike" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #262,442 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "picker" and "pike" 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 #262,442 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.