Proof or prove?
proof is a noun meaning “An effort, process, or operation designed to establish or discover a fact or…”; prove is a verb meaning “To demonstrate that something is true or viable; to give proof for; to bear…”. Use proof as a noun and prove as a verb (prove is also a noun: “The process of dough proofing”). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) prove is about as common as proof.
What is the difference between proof and prove?
| proof | prove | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, adjective, verb, suffix | verb, noun |
| Meaning | An effort, process, or operation designed to establish or discover a fact or truth; an act of testing; a test; a trial The degree of evidence which convinces the mind of any truth or fact, and produces belief; a test by facts or arguments which induce, or tend to induce… Used in proving or testing | To demonstrate that something is true or viable; to give proof for; to bear out; to testify To turn out; to manifest The process of dough proofing |
| Example | I need proof of your unconditional love. Lend me some dough | I will prove that my method is more effective than yours |
| Forms | proofs | proves, proving, proved, proven |
| Pronunciation | /pɹuːf/ /pɹuf/ /pɹʉːf/ | /ˈpɹuːv/ /ˈpɹʉwv/ /ˈpɹuv/ |
| In writing | 50 times per million words | 59 times per million words |
Sources: proof and prove in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of proof and prove
proof
- 1
An effort, process, or operation designed to establish or discover a fact or truth; an act of testing; a test; a trial
I need proof of your unconditional love. Lend me some dough
- 2
Used in proving or testing
a proof load; a proof charge
- 3
colloquialTo proofread
- 4
Added to a noun to form an adjective denoting imperviousness to that noun
- 5
The degree of evidence which convinces the mind of any truth or fact, and produces belief; a test by facts or arguments which induce, or tend to induce, certainty of the judgment; conclusive…
- 6
Firm or successful in resisting
proof against harm
- 7
To make resistant, especially to water
- 8
Added to a noun to form a verb denoting a process to make something impervious to that noun
prove
- 1
To demonstrate that something is true or viable; to give proof for; to bear out; to testify
I will prove that my method is more effective than yours
- 2
The process of dough proofing
- 3
To turn out; to manifest
It proved to be a cold day
- 4
To turn out to be
Have an exit strategy should your calculations prove incorrect
- 5
To put to the test, to make trial of
They took the experimental car to the proving-grounds
- 6
To ascertain or establish the genuineness or validity of; to verify
to prove a will
- 7
datedTo take a trial impression of; to take a proof of
to prove a page
- 8
Alternative form of proof (“allow (dough) to rise; test the activeness of (yeast); pressure-test (a firearm)”)
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, proof or prove?
proof appears 50 times per million words; prove 59 times per million words.
proof 50 times per million wordsprove 59 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search proof vs prove?
“proof vs prove” is searched about 720 times a month on Google and 20 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“prove vs proof”, “proof or prove”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.