Which to use
“speer” and “spelt” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #42,912
- “speer” frequency rank
- #23,111
- “spelt” frequency rank
- 66023
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | speer | spelt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | to ask, to inquire | simple past and past participle of spell |
Letter map: speer vs spelt
Shared letters muted; letters that set speer and spelt apart highlighted. Shared run: 3. speer (CCVVC) and spelt (CCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Pair insight - speer / spelt
speer and spelt 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 66023, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
speer is recorded at frequency rank #42,912, classified as averb. spelt is at rank #23,111, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈspɛlt/.
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 66023, this pair ranks #69,993 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of speer vs spelt
Shared letters: eps. Private to "speer": r. Private to "spelt": lt.
"speer" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC · "spelt" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "speer" for "spelt" ever safe?
Frequency check: "speer" vs "spelt" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
You've compared "speer" and "spelt". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "speer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "spelt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #69,993 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "speer" and "spelt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "speer vs Spenser". 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 #69,993 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.