recorder vs recover, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#11,096
“recorder” frequency rank: #4,401
“recover” frequency rank: 15497
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	recorder	recover
Definition	An apparatus for recording; a device which records.	To get back, to regain (a physical thing; in astronomy and navigation, sight of a thing or a signal).

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set recorder and recover apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch

recorder

7 ch

recover

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: recorder is /ɹiˈkɔː.də/ while recover is /ɹɪˈkʌvə/. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15497, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

recorder is recorded at frequency rank #11,096, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɹiˈkɔː.də/. recover is at rank #4,401, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈkʌvə/.

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 15497, this pair ranks #463,593 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of recorder vs recover

Shared letters: ceor. Private to "recorder": d. Private to "recover": v.

"recorder" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "recover" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

recorder ← ercorder · rceorder · reccorder · recodrer · recordder · recorderr · recordre · recoredr
recover ← ercover · rceover · reccover · recoevr · recoverr · recovre · recovver · recvoer

Frequency comparison

recorder#11,096

recover#4,401

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "recorder" and "recover" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "recorder" is a noun and "recover" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "recorder" or "recover"?

"recover" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,401 in our English list, against #11,096 for "recorder". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering recorder vs recover

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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