Which to use
“repeater” and “reporter” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,392
- “repeater” frequency rank
- #3,976
- “reporter” frequency rank
- 37368
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | repeater | reporter |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | One who or that which repeats. | Someone or something that reports. |
Where the eye mixes repeater and reporter
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. repeater (CVCVVCVC) and reporter (CVCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses repeater with reporter
A purely visual mix-up. repeater (/ɹɪˈpiːtə(ɹ)/) and reporter (/ɹɪˈpɔː.tə/) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37368, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
repeater is recorded at frequency rank #33,392, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɹɪˈpiːtə(ɹ)/. reporter is at rank #3,976, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɹɪˈpɔː.tə/.
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 37368, this pair ranks #295,171 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of repeater vs reporter
Shared letters: eprt. Private to "repeater": a. Private to "reporter": o.
"repeater" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC · "reporter" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "repeater" and "reporter" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "repeater" vs "reporter" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "repeater" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "reporter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #295,171 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "repeater" and "reporter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "repealed vs repeater". 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 #295,171 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.