quitsvsquizWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: quits is a adjective, quiz is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“quits” is an adjective and “quiz” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#17,451
“quits” frequency rank
#9,385
“quiz” frequency rank
26836
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature quits quiz
Definition On equal monetary terms; neither owing or being owed. An odd, puzzling or absurd person or thing.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set quits and quiz apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
quits
4 ch
quiz

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: quits is /kwɪts/ while quiz is /kwɪz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26836, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

quits is recorded at frequency rank #17,451, classified as anadj, pronounced /kwɪts/. quiz is at rank #9,385, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kwɪz/.

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 26836, this pair ranks #383,659 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of quits vs quiz

Shared letters: iqu. Private to "quits": st. Private to "quiz": z.

"quits" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC  ·  "quiz" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • quitsqiuts · qquits · quist · quitss · quitts · qutis · uqits
  • quizqiuz · qquiz · quizz · quzi · uqiz

Frequency comparison

quits#17,451
quiz#9,385

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "quits" and "quiz" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "quits" is an adjective and "quiz" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "quits" or "quiz"?
"quiz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,385 in our English list, against #17,451 for "quits". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering quits vs quiz

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “quits”; for a noun, it's “quiz”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “quits” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list