scoredvsstowedConfusable pair

Which to use

“scored” and “stowed” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,365
“scored” frequency rank
#37,710
“stowed” frequency rank
40075
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature scored stowed
Definition simple past and past participle of score simple past and past participle of stow

Where the eye mixes scored and stowed

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. scored and stowed follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
scored
6 ch
stowed

Look-alike desk: scored vs stowed

A purely visual mix-up. scored (/skɔː(ɹ)d/) and stowed (/stəʊd/) 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 40075, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

scored is recorded at frequency rank #2,365, classified as averb, pronounced /skɔː(ɹ)d/. stowed is at rank #37,710, tagged as averb, pronounced /stəʊd/.

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 40075, this pair ranks #270,908 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of scored vs stowed

Shared letters: deos. Private to "scored": cr. Private to "stowed": tw.

"scored" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "stowed" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • scored ← csored · sccored · scoerd · scorde · scoredd · scorred · scroed · socred
  • stowed ← sotwed · sstowed · stoewd · stowde · stowedd · stowwed · sttowed · stwoed

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "scored" and "stowed" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/skɔː(ɹ)d/ versus /stəʊd/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "scored" vs "stowed" - which ranks higher?
"scored" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,365 in our English list, against #37,710 for "stowed". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "scored" and "stowed" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "scored" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "stowed" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #270,908 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "scored" and "stowed" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stooped vs stowed". 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 #270,908 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list