Which to use
“prize” and “prizes” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,549
- “prize” frequency rank
- #7,046
- “prizes” frequency rank
- 9595
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | prize | prizes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | That which is taken from another; something captured; a thing seized by force, stratagem, or superior power. | plural of prize |
Where the eye mixes prize and prizes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. prize runs 5 letters (CCVCV) against prizes's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between prize and prizes
A purely visual mix-up. prize (/pɹaɪz/) and prizes (/ˈpɹaɪzɪz/) 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 extra letter(s) - “prize” sits inside “prizes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9595, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
prize is recorded at frequency rank #2,549, classified as anoun, pronounced /pɹaɪz/. prizes is at rank #7,046, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɹaɪzɪz/.
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 9595, this pair ranks #496,590 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of prize vs prizes
Shared letters: eiprz. Private to "prize": -. Private to "prizes": s.
"prize" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "prizes" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "prize" for "prizes" ever safe?
Frequency check: "prize" vs "prizes" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "prize" and "prizes" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "prize" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "prizes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #496,590 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "prize" and "prizes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "plies vs prizes". 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 #496,590 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.