proofvspropsWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#2,052
“proof” frequency rank
#10,912
“props” frequency rank
12964
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature proof props
Definition An effort, process, or operation designed to establish or discover a fact or truth; an act of testing; a test; a trial. Respect for, or recognition of, another person; an expression of approval or a special acknowledgment; accolades; praise.

Letter map: proof vs props

Shared letters muted; letters that set proof and props apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.

5 ch
proof
5 ch
props

Pair insight - proof / props

proof and props are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12964, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

proof is recorded at frequency rank #2,052, classified as anoun, pronounced /pɹuːf/. props is at rank #10,912, tagged as anoun.

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 12964, this pair ranks #478,509 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of proof vs props

Shared letters: opr. Private to "proof": f. Private to "props": s.

"proof" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC  ·  "props" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • proofporof · pproof · prof · profo · prooff · prroof · rpoof
  • propsporps · pprops · propps · propss · prosp · prpos · prrops · rpops

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "proof" for "props" ever safe?
No. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Frequency check: "proof" vs "props" - which ranks higher?
"proof" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,052 in our English list, against #10,912 for "props". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "proof" and "props".

  • Full dictionary entry for "proof" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "props" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #478,509 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "proof" and "props" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "poops vs props". 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 #478,509 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