Which to use
“retire” and “retry” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,613
- “retire” frequency rank
- #49,014
- “retry” frequency rank
- 55627
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | retire | retry |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To stop working on a permanent basis, usually because of old age or illness. | To try or attempt again. |
Where the eye mixes retire and retry
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. retire runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against retry's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between retire and retry
A purely visual mix-up. retire (/ɹəˈtaɪə(ɹ)/) and retry (/riˈtɹaɪ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55627, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
retire is recorded at frequency rank #6,613, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹəˈtaɪə(ɹ)/. retry is at rank #49,014, tagged as averb, pronounced /riˈtɹaɪ/.
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 55627, this pair ranks #132,186 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of retire vs retry
Shared letters: ert. Private to "retire": i. Private to "retry": y.
"retire" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "retry" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "retire" for "retry" ever safe?
Which is more common, "retire" or "retry"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "retire" and "retry" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "retire" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "retry" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #132,186 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "retire" and "retry" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "reedy vs retry". 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 #132,186 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.