Which to use
“pore” and “probe” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,186
- “pore” frequency rank
- #7,266
- “probe” frequency rank
- 27452
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pore | probe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A tiny opening in the skin. | Any of various medical instruments used to explore wounds, organs, etc. |
Where the eye mixes pore and probe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. pore runs 4 letters (CVCV) against probe's 5 (CCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between pore and probe
A purely visual mix-up. pore (/pɔː(ɹ)/) and probe (/pɹəʊb/) 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 27452, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pore is recorded at frequency rank #20,186, classified as anoun, pronounced /pɔː(ɹ)/. probe is at rank #7,266, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pɹəʊb/.
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 27452, this pair ranks #378,793 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pore vs probe
Shared letters: eopr. Private to "pore": -. Private to "probe": b.
"pore" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "probe" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pore" and "probe" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "pore" or "probe" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "pore" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "probe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #378,793 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pore" and "probe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pore vs Pyke". 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 #378,793 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.