Which to use
“pooled” is a verb and “pooped” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #29,792
- “pooled” frequency rank
- #33,796
- “pooped” frequency rank
- 63588
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pooled | pooped |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of pool | Tired; exhausted. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pooled and pooped apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pooled is /puːld/ while pooped is /pupt/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - l in “pooled” becomes p in “pooped”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63588, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pooled is recorded at frequency rank #29,792, classified as averb, pronounced /puːld/. pooped is at rank #33,796, tagged as anadj, pronounced /pupt/.
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 63588, this pair ranks #82,137 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of pooled vs pooped
Shared letters: deop. Private to "pooled": l. Private to "pooped": -.
"pooled" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "pooped" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pooled" and "pooped" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "pooled" or "pooped"?
Remembering pooled vs pooped
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “pooled”; for an adjective, it's “pooped”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “pooled” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable