# sonar vs star

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### sonar
*noun · IPA /ˈsoʊ.nɑːɹ/ · frequency rank #19,702*
Artificial echolocation by use of electronic equipment, with hydrophones to locate objects underwater, using the same wave-analysis principles that radar uses.

### star
*noun · IPA /stɑː(ɹ)/ · frequency rank #666*
Any small, natural and bright dot in the sky, most visible in the night or twilight sky. This sense includes the planets, but it is now sometimes used in exclusion of them due to influence from the technical astronomical sense.

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