Which to use
“sprint” and “string” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,613
- “sprint” frequency rank
- #3,658
- “string” frequency rank
- 11271
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sprint | string |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A short race at top speed. | A long, thin and flexible structure made from threads twisted together. |
Where the eye mixes sprint and string
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between sprint and string
A purely visual mix-up. sprint (/spɹɪnt/) and string (/stɹɪŋ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11271, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sprint is recorded at frequency rank #7,613, classified as anoun, pronounced /spɹɪnt/. string is at rank #3,658, tagged as anoun, pronounced /stɹɪŋ/.
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 11271, this pair ranks #487,945 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sprint vs string
Shared letters: inrst. Private to "sprint": p. Private to "string": g.
"sprint" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC · "string" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sprint" for "string" ever safe?
Frequency check: "sprint" vs "string" - which ranks higher?
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 "sprint" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "string" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #487,945 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sprint" and "string" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "splints vs sprint". 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 #487,945 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.