Which to use
“spilt” is an adjective and “split” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #32,598
- “spilt” frequency rank
- #2,270
- “split” frequency rank
- 34868
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | spilt | split |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | That has been spilled. | To divide fully or partly along a more or less straight line. |
Where the eye mixes spilt and split
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: spilt vs split
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: spilt is /spɪlt/ while split is /splɪt/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ only by swapping two adjacent letters (il ↔ li) - a transposition the eye reads straight past, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34868, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
spilt is recorded at frequency rank #32,598, classified as anadj, pronounced /spɪlt/. split is at rank #2,270, tagged as averb, pronounced /splɪt/.
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 34868, this pair ranks #316,937 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of spilt vs split
Shared letters: ilpst. Private to "spilt": -. Private to "split": -.
"spilt" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "split" · 5 letters · shape CCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "spilt" for "split" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "spilt" or "split" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "spilt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "split" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #316,937 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "spilt" and "split" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "spilt vs spiny". 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 #316,937 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.