Which to use
“port” and “posts” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,913
- “port” frequency rank
- #2,265
- “posts” frequency rank
- 4178
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | port | posts |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A place on the coast at which ships can shelter, or dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. | plural of post |
Where the eye mixes port and posts
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between port and posts
A purely visual mix-up. port (/pɔːt/) and posts (/pəʊsts/) 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 4178, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
port is recorded at frequency rank #1,913, classified as anoun, pronounced /pɔːt/. posts is at rank #2,265, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pəʊsts/.
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 4178, this pair ranks #519,747 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of port vs posts
Shared letters: opt. Private to "port": r. Private to "posts": s.
"port" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "posts" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "port" for "posts" ever safe?
Which is more common, "port" or "posts"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "port" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "posts" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #519,747 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "port" and "posts" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "poops vs posts". 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 #519,747 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.