Which to use
“pull” is a verb and “pulley” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,611
- “pull” frequency rank
- #32,139
- “pulley” frequency rank
- 33750
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pull | pulley |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To apply a force to (an object) so that it comes toward the person or thing applying the force. | One of the simple machines; a sheave, a wheel with a grooved rim, in which a pulled rope or chain lifts an object (more useful when two or more pulleys are used together, as in a block and tackle arrangement, such that a small force moving through a greater distance can exert a larger force through a smaller distance). |
Where the eye mixes pull and pulley
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses pull with pulley
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pull is /pʊl/ while pulley is /ˈpʊli/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “pull” sits inside “pulley”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33750, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pull is recorded at frequency rank #1,611, classified as averb, pronounced /pʊl/. pulley is at rank #32,139, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpʊli/.
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 33750, this pair ranks #326,725 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pull vs pulley
Shared letters: lpu. Private to "pull": -. Private to "pulley": ey.
"pull" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "pulley" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pull" and "pulley" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "pull" or "pulley" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "pull" and "pulley" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "pull" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pulley" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #326,725 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pull" and "pulley" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pulley vs pulleys". 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 #326,725 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.