# staple vs stifle

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### staple
*noun · IPA /ˈsteɪ.pəl/ · frequency rank #11,611*
A town containing merchants who have exclusive right, under royal authority, to purchase or produce certain goods for export; also, the body of such merchants seen as a group.

### stifle
*verb · IPA /ˈstaɪfl̩/ · frequency rank #29,104*
To make (an animal or person) unconscious or cause (an animal or person) to die by preventing breathing; to smother, to suffocate.

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