Which to use
“staking” and “staring” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,033
- “staking” frequency rank
- #5,734
- “staring” frequency rank
- 38767
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | staking | staring |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | present participle and gerund of stake | present participle and gerund of stare |
Letter map: staking vs staring
Shared letters muted; letters that set staking and staring apart highlighted. Shared run: 6.
Spelling & dictionary notes on staking vs staring
staking and staring 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 differ by a single letter - k in “staking” becomes r in “staring”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38767, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
staking is recorded at frequency rank #33,033, classified as averb. staring is at rank #5,734, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈstɛəɹɪŋ/.
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 38767, this pair ranks #282,966 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of staking vs staring
Shared letters: aginst. Private to "staking": k. Private to "staring": r.
"staking" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCC · "staring" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "staking" for "staring" ever safe?
Which is more common, "staking" or "staring"?
What to do next
Pair "staking" vs "staring" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "staking" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "staring" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #282,966 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "staking" and "staring" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "staking vs sulking". 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 #282,966 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.