quidvsquiltWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#19,182
“quid” frequency rank
#21,036
“quilt” frequency rank
40218
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature quid quilt
Definition The inherent nature of something. A bed covering consisting of two layers of fabric stitched together, with insulation between, often having a decorative design.

Where the eye mixes quid and quilt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
quid
5 ch
quilt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. quid (/kwɪd/) and quilt (/ˈkwɪlt/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40218, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

quid is recorded at frequency rank #19,182, classified as anoun, pronounced /kwɪd/. quilt is at rank #21,036, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkwɪlt/.

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 40218, this pair ranks #269,555 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of quid vs quilt

Shared letters: iqu. Private to "quid": d. Private to "quilt": lt.

"quid" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "quilt" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • quidqiud · qquid · qudi · quidd · uqid
  • quiltqiult · qquilt · quillt · quiltt · quitl · qulit · uqilt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "quid" and "quilt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/kwɪd/ versus /ˈkwɪlt/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "quid" or "quilt"?
"quid" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,182 in our English list, against #21,036 for "quilt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list