Which to use
“smoking” and “staking” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,917
- “smoking” frequency rank
- #33,033
- “staking” frequency rank
- 35950
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | smoking | staking |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | present participle and gerund of smoke | present participle and gerund of stake |
Letter map: smoking vs staking
Shared letters muted; letters that set smoking and staking apart highlighted. Shared run: 5.
Pair insight - smoking / staking
smoking and staking are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35950, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
smoking is recorded at frequency rank #2,917, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈsməʊkɪŋ/. staking is at rank #33,033, tagged as averb.
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 35950, this pair ranks #307,507 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of smoking vs staking
Shared letters: gikns. Private to "smoking": mo. Private to "staking": at.
"smoking" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCC · "staking" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "smoking" and "staking" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "smoking" vs "staking" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pair "smoking" vs "staking" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "smoking" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "staking" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #307,507 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "smoking" and "staking" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "staking vs sulking". 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 #307,507 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.