# slave vs stale

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### slave
*noun · IPA /sleɪv/ · frequency rank #4,270*
A person who is held in servitude as the property of another person, and whose labor (and often also whose body and life) is subject to the owner's volition and control.

### stale
*adjective · IPA /steɪl/ · frequency rank #16,589*
Clear, free of dregs and lees; old and strong.

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