Which to use
“pulling” and “pushing” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,971
- “pulling” frequency rank
- #3,387
- “pushing” frequency rank
- 7358
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pulling | pushing |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | present participle and gerund of pull | present participle and gerund of push |
Where the eye mixes pulling and pushing
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between pulling and pushing
A purely visual mix-up. pulling (/ˈpʊlɪŋ/) and pushing (/ˈpʊʃɪŋ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7358, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pulling is recorded at frequency rank #3,971, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈpʊlɪŋ/. pushing is at rank #3,387, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈpʊʃɪŋ/.
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 7358, this pair ranks #507,463 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pulling vs pushing
Shared letters: ginpu. Private to "pulling": l. Private to "pushing": hs.
"pulling" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "pushing" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pulling" and "pushing" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "pulling" vs "pushing" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "pulling" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pushing" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #507,463 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pulling" and "pushing" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pulling vs punting". 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 #507,463 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.