Which to use
“record” and “rector” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #625
- “record” frequency rank
- #18,673
- “rector” frequency rank
- 19298
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | record | rector |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An item of information put into a temporary or permanent physical medium. | In the Anglican Church, a cleric in charge of a parish and who owns the tithes of it. |
Where the eye mixes record and rector
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: record vs rector
A purely visual mix-up. record (/ˈɹɛk.ɔːd/) and rector (/ˈɹɛktɚ/) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19298, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
record is recorded at frequency rank #625, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈɹɛk.ɔːd/. rector is at rank #18,673, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɹɛktɚ/.
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 19298, this pair ranks #439,143 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of record vs rector
Shared letters: ceor. Private to "record": d. Private to "rector": t.
"record" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "rector" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "record" for "rector" ever safe?
Which is more common, "record" or "rector"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "record" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "rector" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #439,143 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "record" and "rector" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rector vs recur". 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 #439,143 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.