Which to use
“stats” is a noun and “steals” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,124
- “stats” frequency rank
- #10,937
- “steals” frequency rank
- 15061
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stats | steals |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Clipping of statistics (the subject). | third-person singular simple present indicative of steal |
Where the eye mixes stats and steals
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: stats vs steals
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: stats is /stæts/ while steals is /stiːlz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15061, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
stats is recorded at frequency rank #4,124, classified as anoun, pronounced /stæts/. steals is at rank #10,937, tagged as averb, pronounced /stiːlz/.
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 15061, this pair ranks #466,296 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of stats vs steals
Shared letters: ast. Private to "stats": -. Private to "steals": el.
"stats" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "steals" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "stats" and "steals" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "stats" vs "steals" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "stats" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "steals" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #466,296 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stats" and "steals" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "steals vs stews". 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 #466,296 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.