# reek vs ref

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### reek
*noun · IPA /riːk/ · frequency rank #39,053*
A strong unpleasant smell.

### ref
*noun · IPA /ɹɛf/ · frequency rank #7,730*
Clipping of referee.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-09-03.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reek-vs-ref