Which to use
“reap” and “rev” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,394
- “reap” frequency rank
- #5,912
- “rev” frequency rank
- 20306
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | reap | rev |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To cut (for example a grain) with a sickle, scythe, or reaping machine | To increase the speed of a motor, or to operate at a higher speed. |
Where the eye mixes reap and rev
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses reap with rev
A purely visual mix-up. reap (/ɹiːp/) and rev (/ɹɛv/) 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 20306, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
reap is recorded at frequency rank #14,394, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹiːp/. rev is at rank #5,912, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹɛv/.
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 20306, this pair ranks #432,026 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of reap vs rev
Shared letters: er. Private to "reap": ap. Private to "rev": v.
"reap" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "rev" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- reap ← erap · reapp · repa · rreap
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "reap" for "rev" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "reap" or "rev" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "reap" and "rev" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "reap" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "rev" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #432,026 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "reap" and "rev" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "reap vs Rua". 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 #432,026 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.