# referee vs refugee

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### referee
*noun · IPA /ˌɹɛf.əˈɹiː/ · frequency rank #8,848*
An umpire or judge; an official who makes sure the rules are followed during a game.

### refugee
*noun · IPA /ˈɹɛfjʊd͡ʒiː/ · frequency rank #7,383*
A person seeking refuge (as for shelter or protection), especially in a foreign country, out of fear or prospect of political, religious persecution, war, natural disaster, etc.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/referee-vs-refugee