Which to use
“ports” and “posts” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,396
- “ports” frequency rank
- #2,265
- “posts” frequency rank
- 8661
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ports | posts |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of port | plural of post |
Where the eye mixes ports and posts
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses ports with posts
A purely visual mix-up. ports (/pɔɹts/) 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 a single letter - r in “ports” becomes s in “posts”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8661, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ports is recorded at frequency rank #6,396, classified as anoun, pronounced /pɔɹts/. 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 8661, this pair ranks #501,360 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ports vs posts
Shared letters: opst. Private to "ports": r. Private to "posts": -.
"ports" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "posts" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ports" for "posts" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ports" vs "posts" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ports" 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 #501,360 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ports" and "posts" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "poops vs ports". 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 #501,360 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.