Which to use
“picks” and “pits” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,786
- “picks” frequency rank
- #10,908
- “pits” frequency rank
- 15694
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | picks | pits |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of pick | plural of pit |
Where the eye mixes picks and pits
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses picks with pits
A purely visual mix-up. picks (/pɪks/) and pits (/pɪts/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15694, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
picks is recorded at frequency rank #4,786, classified as anoun, pronounced /pɪks/. pits is at rank #10,908, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pɪts/.
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 15694, this pair ranks #462,396 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of picks vs pits
Shared letters: ips. Private to "picks": ck. Private to "pits": t.
"picks" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "pits" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "picks" and "pits" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "picks" or "pits"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "picks" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pits" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #462,396 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "picks" and "pits" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pecs vs pits". 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 #462,396 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.