Which to use
“score” is a noun and “scour” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,576
- “score” frequency rank
- #30,216
- “scour” frequency rank
- 31792
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | score | scour |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The total number of goals, points, runs, etc. earned by a participant in a game. | To clean, polish, or wash (something) by rubbing and scrubbing it vigorously, frequently with an abrasive or cleaning agent. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set score and scour apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
score and scour form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31792, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
score is recorded at frequency rank #1,576, classified as anoun, pronounced /skɔː/. scour is at rank #30,216, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈskaʊə/.
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 31792, this pair ranks #343,169 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "score" and "scour" be used interchangeably?
Remembering score vs scour
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “score”; for a verb, it's “scour”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “score” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable