Which to use
“stares” and “stores” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,214
- “stares” frequency rank
- #2,370
- “stores” frequency rank
- 21584
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stares | stores |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of stare | plural of store |
Where the eye mixes stares and stores
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between stares and stores
A purely visual mix-up. stares (/ˈstɛəz/) and stores (/stɔɹz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - a in “stares” becomes o in “stores”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21584, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
stares is recorded at frequency rank #19,214, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈstɛəz/. stores is at rank #2,370, tagged as anoun, pronounced /stɔɹz/.
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 21584, this pair ranks #422,833 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of stares vs stores
Shared letters: erst. Private to "stares": a. Private to "stores": o.
"stares" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "stores" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "stares" and "stores" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "stares" or "stores" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "stares" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stores" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #422,833 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stares" and "stores" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stares vs staves". 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 #422,833 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.