Which to use
“policies” is a noun and “policing” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,008
- “policies” frequency rank
- #12,658
- “policing” frequency rank
- 14666
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | policies | policing |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of policy | present participle and gerund of police |
Letter map: policies vs policing
Shared letters muted; letters that set policies and policing apart highlighted. Shared run: 6. policies (CVCVCVVC) and policing (CVCVCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Role in the sentence - policies and policing
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: policies is anoun and policingaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14666, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
policies is recorded at frequency rank #2,008, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɒl.ə.siz/. policing is at rank #12,658, tagged as averb.
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 14666, this pair ranks #468,683 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of policies vs policing
Shared letters: cilop. Private to "policies": es. Private to "policing": gn.
"policies" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC · "policing" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "policies" for "policing" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "policies" or "policing" show up more?
What to do next
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "policies" and "policing".
- Full dictionary entry for "policies" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "policing" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #468,683 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "policies" and "policing" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "polices vs policies". 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 #468,683 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.