# sample vs staple

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### sample
*noun · IPA /ˈsɑːm.pəl/ · frequency rank #2,859*
A part or snippet of something taken or presented for inspection, or shown as evidence of the quality of the whole; a specimen.

### staple
*noun · IPA /ˈsteɪ.pəl/ · frequency rank #11,611*
A town containing merchants who have exclusive right, under royal authority, to purchase or produce certain goods for export; also, the body of such merchants seen as a group.

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