progvsproxyConfusable pair

Which to use

“prog” and “proxy” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#23,952
“prog” frequency rank
#10,749
“proxy” frequency rank
34701
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature prog proxy
Definition Abbreviation of progressive. Used as a proxy or acting as a proxy.

Where the eye mixes prog and proxy

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
prog
5 ch
proxy

Visual trap between prog and proxy

A purely visual mix-up. prog (/pɹɒɡ/) and proxy (/ˈpɹɒk.si/) 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 34701, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

prog is recorded at frequency rank #23,952, classified as anadj, pronounced /pɹɒɡ/. proxy is at rank #10,749, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈpɹɒk.si/.

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 34701, this pair ranks #318,480 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of prog vs proxy

Shared letters: opr. Private to "prog": g. Private to "proxy": xy.

"prog" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "proxy" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • progporg · pprog · prgo · progg · prrog · rpog
  • proxyporxy · pproxy · proxxy · proxyy · proyx · prroxy · prxoy · rpoxy

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "prog" and "proxy" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/pɹɒɡ/ versus /ˈpɹɒk.si/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "prog" or "proxy"?
"proxy" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,749 in our English list, against #23,952 for "prog". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "prog" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "proxy" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #318,480 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "prog" and "proxy" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "poon vs prog". 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 #318,480 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list