Which to use
“rotary” is an adjective and “rotor” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,853
- “rotary” frequency rank
- #16,789
- “rotor” frequency rank
- 29642
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | rotary | rotor |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Capable of rotation. | A rotating part of a mechanical device; for example, in an electric motor, generator, alternator, or pump. |
Where the eye mixes rotary and rotor
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between rotary and rotor
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: rotary is /ˈɹəʊ.tə.ɹi/ while rotor is /ˈɹəʊ.tə/. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29642, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
rotary is recorded at frequency rank #12,853, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈɹəʊ.tə.ɹi/. rotor is at rank #16,789, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɹəʊ.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 29642, this pair ranks #361,273 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of rotary vs rotor
Shared letters: ort. Private to "rotary": ay. Private to "rotor": -.
"rotary" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "rotor" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "rotary" for "rotor" ever safe?
Which is more common, "rotary" or "rotor"?
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 "rotary" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "rotor" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #361,273 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "rotary" and "rotor" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rood vs rotor". 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 #361,273 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.