Which to use
“staking” and “staying” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,033
- “staking” frequency rank
- #2,764
- “staying” frequency rank
- 35797
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | staking | staying |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | present participle and gerund of stake | present participle and gerund of stay |
Letter map: staking vs staying
Shared letters muted; letters that set staking and staying apart highlighted. Shared run: 6.
Pair insight - staking / staying
staking and staying 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 y in “staying”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35797, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
staking is recorded at frequency rank #33,033, classified as averb. staying is at rank #2,764, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈsteɪ.ɪŋ/.
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 35797, this pair ranks #308,848 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of staking vs staying
Shared letters: aginst. Private to "staking": k. Private to "staying": y.
"staking" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCC · "staying" · 7 letters · shape CCVVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "staking" for "staying" ever safe?
Frequency check: "staking" vs "staying" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "staking" and "staying".
- Full dictionary entry for "staking" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "staying" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #308,848 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "staking" and "staying" 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 #308,848 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.