quotedvsquotesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: quoted is a verb, quotes is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“quoted” is a verb and “quotes” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,075
“quoted” frequency rank
#4,702
“quotes” frequency rank
9777
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature quoted quotes
Definition simple past and past participle of quote plural of quote

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set quoted and quotes apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
quoted
6 ch
quotes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: quoted is averb and quotesanoun. On the page they differ by a single letter - d in “quoted” becomes s in “quotes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9777, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

quoted is recorded at frequency rank #5,075, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈkwəʊtɪd/. quotes is at rank #4,702, tagged as anoun.

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 9777, this pair ranks #495,653 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of quoted vs quotes

Shared letters: eoqtu. Private to "quoted": d. Private to "quotes": s.

"quoted" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "quotes" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • quotedqouted · qquoted · quoetd · quotde · quotedd · quotted · qutoed · uqoted
  • quotesqoutes · qquotes · quoets · quotess · quotse · quottes · qutoes · uqotes

Frequency comparison

quoted#5,075
quotes#4,702

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "quoted" and "quotes" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "quoted" is a verb and "quotes" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "quoted" or "quotes"?
"quotes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,702 in our English list, against #5,075 for "quoted". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering quoted vs quotes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “quoted”; for a noun, it's “quotes”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “quoted” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list