Which to use
“statute” and “statutes” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,257
- “statute” frequency rank
- #15,067
- “statutes” frequency rank
- 24324
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | statute | statutes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A written law or ordinance passed by a legislative body. | plural of statute |
Where the eye mixes statute and statutes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: statute vs statutes
A purely visual mix-up. statute (/ˈstatjuːt/) and statutes (/ˈstæt͡ʃuts/) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “statute” sits inside “statutes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24324, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
statute is recorded at frequency rank #9,257, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈstatjuːt/. statutes is at rank #15,067, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈstæt͡ʃuts/.
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 24324, this pair ranks #402,823 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of statute vs statutes
Shared letters: aestu. Private to "statute": -. Private to "statutes": -.
"statute" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV · "statutes" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "statute" and "statutes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "statute" or "statutes" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "statute" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "statutes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #402,823 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "statute" and "statutes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "statuette vs statute". 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 #402,823 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.