Which to use
“program” and “programs” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #545
- “program” frequency rank
- #1,351
- “programs” frequency rank
- 1896
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | program | programs |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A set of structured activities; a plan of action. | plural of program |
Where the eye mixes program and programs
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between program and programs
A purely visual mix-up. program (/ˈpɹəʊ̯ˌɡɹæm/) and programs (/ˈpɹəʊ.ɡɹæmz/) 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) - “program” sits inside “programs”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1896, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
program is recorded at frequency rank #545, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɹəʊ̯ˌɡɹæm/. programs is at rank #1,351, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɹəʊ.ɡɹæmz/.
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 1896, this pair ranks #526,365 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of program vs programs
Shared letters: agmopr. Private to "program": -. Private to "programs": s.
"program" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "programs" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "program" and "programs" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "program" vs "programs" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "program" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "programs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #526,365 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "program" and "programs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "programme vs programs". 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 #526,365 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.