PlummervsplummetWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Plummer is a name, plummet is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Plummer” is a name and “plummet” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#34,639
“Plummer” frequency rank
#35,019
“plummet” frequency rank
69658
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Plummer plummet
Definition A surname originating as an occupation. A piece of lead attached to a line, used in sounding the depth of water; a plumb bob or a plumb line.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Plummer and plummet apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
Plummer
7 ch
plummet

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Plummer is /ˈplʌmɚ/ while plummet is /ˈplʌmɪt/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - r in “Plummer” becomes t in “plummet”, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69658, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Plummer is recorded at frequency rank #34,639, classified as aname, pronounced /ˈplʌmɚ/. plummet is at rank #35,019, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈplʌmɪt/.

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 69658, this pair ranks #53,665 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Plummer vs plummet

Shared letters: elmpu. Private to "Plummer": r. Private to "plummet": t.

"Plummer" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "plummet" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Plummerlpummer · pllummer · plmumer · plumemr · plumer · plummerr · plummre · pplummer
  • plummetlpummet · pllummet · plmumet · plumemt · plumet · plummett · plummte · pplummet

Frequency comparison

Plummer#34,639
plummet#35,019

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Plummer" and "plummet" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Plummer" is a name and "plummet" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Plummer" or "plummet"?
"Plummer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,639 in our English list, against #35,019 for "plummet". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Plummer vs plummet

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a name, it's “Plummer”; for a noun, it's “plummet”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Plummer” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list