Which to use
“spray” is a noun and “spread” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,368
- “spray” frequency rank
- #1,650
- “spread” frequency rank
- 7018
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | spray | spread |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A fine, gentle, dispersed mist of liquid. | To stretch out, open out (a material etc.) so that it more fully covers a given area of space. |
Where the eye mixes spray and spread
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: spray vs spread
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: spray is /spɹeɪ/ 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 7018, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
spray is recorded at frequency rank #5,368, classified as anoun, pronounced /spɹeɪ/. 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 7018, this pair ranks #508,945 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of spray vs spread
Shared letters: aprs. Private to "spray": y. Private to "spread": de.
"spray" · 5 letters · shape CCCVV · "spread" · 6 letters · shape CCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "spray" for "spread" ever safe?
Frequency check: "spray" vs "spread" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "spray" 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 #508,945 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "spray" and "spread" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "spray vs sura". 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 #508,945 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.