Which to use
“plead” and “pled” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,475
- “plead” frequency rank
- #40,395
- “pled” frequency rank
- 52870
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | plead | pled |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To present (an argument or a plea), especially in a legal case. | simple past and past participle of plead |
Where the eye mixes plead and pled
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between plead and pled
A purely visual mix-up. plead (/pliːd/) and pled (/plɛd/) 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 52870, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
plead is recorded at frequency rank #12,475, classified as averb, pronounced /pliːd/. pled is at rank #40,395, tagged as averb, pronounced /plɛd/.
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 52870, this pair ranks #153,514 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of plead vs pled
Shared letters: delp. Private to "plead": a. Private to "pled": -.
"plead" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC · "pled" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "plead" for "pled" ever safe?
Which is more common, "plead" or "pled"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "plead" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pled" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #153,514 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "plead" and "pled" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pled vs plied". 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 #153,514 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.