Which to use
“stare” is a verb and “start” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,211
- “stare” frequency rank
- #248
- “start” frequency rank
- 8459
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stare | start |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To look fixedly (at something). | The beginning of an activity. |
Where the eye mixes stare and start
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses stare with start
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: stare is /stɛɚ/ while start is /stɑːt/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “stare” becomes t in “start”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8459, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
stare is recorded at frequency rank #8,211, classified as averb, pronounced /stɛɚ/. start is at rank #248, tagged as anoun, pronounced /stɑːt/.
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 8459, this pair ranks #502,387 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of stare vs start
Shared letters: arst. Private to "stare": e. Private to "start": -.
"stare" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "start" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "stare" and "start" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "stare" or "start"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "stare" and "start" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "stare" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "start" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #502,387 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stare" and "start" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "staph vs stare". 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 #502,387 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.