Which to use
“stakes” and “status” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,962
- “stakes” frequency rank
- #1,439
- “status” frequency rank
- 8401
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stakes | status |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of stake | A person’s condition, position or standing relative to that of others. |
Where the eye mixes stakes and status
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between stakes and status
A purely visual mix-up. stakes (/steɪks/) and status (/ˈsteɪ.təs/) 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 8401, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
stakes is recorded at frequency rank #6,962, classified as anoun, pronounced /steɪks/. status is at rank #1,439, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈsteɪ.təs/.
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 8401, this pair ranks #502,678 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of stakes vs status
Shared letters: ast. Private to "stakes": ek. Private to "status": u.
"stakes" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "status" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "stakes" for "status" ever safe?
Frequency check: "stakes" vs "status" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "stakes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "status" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #502,678 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stakes" and "status" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stakes vs staves". 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 #502,678 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.