podcastvspodcastsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“podcast” and “podcasts” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#5,615
“podcast” frequency rank
#15,478
“podcasts” frequency rank
21093
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature podcast podcasts
Definition A program, especially an audio program, produced on a regular basis, delivered over the Internet in a compressed digital format and designed for playback on computers or portable devices such as mobile phones. plural of podcast

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set podcast and podcasts apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
podcast
8 ch
podcasts

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. podcast (/ˈpɒdˌkɑːst/) and podcasts (/ˈpɒdkæsts/) 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 extra letter(s) - “podcast” sits inside “podcasts”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21093, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

podcast is recorded at frequency rank #5,615, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɒdˌkɑːst/. podcasts is at rank #15,478, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɒdkæsts/.

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 21093, this pair ranks #426,438 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of podcast vs podcasts

Shared letters: acdopst. Private to "podcast": -. Private to "podcasts": -.

"podcast" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "podcasts" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • podcastopdcast · pdocast · pocdast · podacst · podcasst · podcastt · podcats · podccast
  • podcastsopdcasts · pdocasts · pocdasts · podacsts · podcassts · podcastss · podcastts · podcatss

Frequency comparison

podcast#5,615
podcasts#15,478

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "podcast" and "podcasts" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈpɒdˌkɑːst/ versus /ˈpɒdkæsts/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "podcast" or "podcasts"?
"podcast" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,615 in our English list, against #15,478 for "podcasts". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering podcast vs podcasts

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “podcast” 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