# staph vs start

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### staph
*noun · IPA /stæf/ · frequency rank #49,070*
Staphylococcus bacteria and the infection it causes.

### start
*noun · IPA /stɑːt/ · frequency rank #248*
The beginning of an activity.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/staph-vs-start