Which to use
“prompt” is an adjective and “prop” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,845
- “prompt” frequency rank
- #10,112
- “prop” frequency rank
- 18957
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | prompt | prop |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Quick; acting without delay. | An object placed against or under another, to support it; anything that supports. |
Where the eye mixes prompt and prop
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. prompt runs 6 letters (CCVCCC) against prop's 4 (CCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between prompt and prop
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: prompt is /pɹɒmpt/ while prop is /pɹɒp/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18957, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
prompt is recorded at frequency rank #8,845, classified as anadj, pronounced /pɹɒmpt/. 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 18957, this pair ranks #441,460 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of prompt vs prop
Shared letters: opr. Private to "prompt": mt. Private to "prop": -.
"prompt" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC · "prop" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "prompt" and "prop" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "prompt" or "prop"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "prompt" 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 #441,460 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "prompt" and "prop" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "poops vs prop". 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 #441,460 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.