Which to use
“prod” is a verb and “prop” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,030
- “prod” frequency rank
- #10,112
- “prop” frequency rank
- 31142
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | prod | prop |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To poke, to push, to touch. | An object placed against or under another, to support it; anything that supports. |
Where the eye mixes prod and prop
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses prod with prop
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: prod is /pɹɒd/ while prop is /pɹɒp/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - d in “prod” becomes p in “prop”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31142, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
prod is recorded at frequency rank #21,030, classified as averb, pronounced /pɹɒd/. prop is at rank #10,112, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pɹɒp/.
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 31142, this pair ranks #348,662 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of prod vs prop
Shared letters: opr. Private to "prod": d. Private to "prop": -.
"prod" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "prop" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "prod" and "prop" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "prod" vs "prop" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "prod" and "prop" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "prod" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "prop" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #348,662 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "prod" and "prop" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "prod vs prude". 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 #348,662 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.