Which to use
“spear” is a noun and “spread” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,296
- “spear” frequency rank
- #1,650
- “spread” frequency rank
- 12946
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | spear | spread |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A long stick with a sharp tip used as a weapon for throwing or thrusting, or anything used to make a thrusting motion. | To stretch out, open out (a material etc.) so that it more fully covers a given area of space. |
Where the eye mixes spear and spread
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between spear and spread
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: spear is /spɪə̯(ɹ)/ while spread is /spɹɛd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12946, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
spear is recorded at frequency rank #11,296, classified as anoun, pronounced /spɪə̯(ɹ)/. spread is at rank #1,650, tagged as averb, pronounced /spɹɛd/.
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 12946, this pair ranks #478,612 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of spear vs spread
Shared letters: aeprs. Private to "spear": -. Private to "spread": d.
"spear" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC · "spread" · 6 letters · shape CCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "spear" and "spread" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "spear" or "spread" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "spear" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "spread" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #478,612 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "spear" and "spread" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Sagar vs spear". 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 #478,612 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.