Which to use
“skated” is a verb and “slate” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,226
- “skated” frequency rank
- #9,397
- “slate” frequency rank
- 46623
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | skated | slate |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of skate | A flake or piece of certain types of stone that tend to cleave into thin layers. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set skated and slate apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
skated and slate form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46623, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
skated is recorded at frequency rank #37,226, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈskeɪtɪd/. slate is at rank #9,397, tagged as anoun, pronounced /sleɪt/.
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 46623, this pair ranks #209,988 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "skated" and "slate" be used interchangeably?
Remembering skated vs slate
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “skated”; for a noun, it's “slate”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “skated” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable