stokesvsstrokeConfusable pair

Quick tell: stokes is a verb, stroke is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“stokes” is a verb and “stroke” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#13,617
“stokes” frequency rank
#4,555
“stroke” frequency rank
18172
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature stokes stroke
Definition third-person singular simple present indicative of stoke An act of hitting; a blow, a hit.

Letter map: stokes vs stroke

Shared letters muted; letters that set stokes and stroke apart highlighted. Shared run: 5.

6 ch
stokes
6 ch
stroke

Role in the sentence - stokes and stroke

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: stokes is averb and strokeanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 4 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18172, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

stokes is recorded at frequency rank #13,617, classified as averb. stroke is at rank #4,555, tagged as anoun, pronounced /stɹəʊk/.

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 18172, this pair ranks #446,675 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of stokes vs stroke

Shared letters: ekost. Private to "stokes": -. Private to "stroke": r.

"stokes" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "stroke" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • stokessotkes · sstokes · stkoes · stoeks · stokess · stokkes · stokse · sttokes
  • strokesrtoke · sstroke · storke · strkoe · stroek · strokke · strroke · sttroke

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "stokes" and "stroke" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "stokes" is a verb and "stroke" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "stokes" or "stroke"?
"stroke" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,555 in our English list, against #13,617 for "stokes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pair "stokes" vs "stroke" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "stokes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "stroke" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #446,675 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "stokes" and "stroke" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stokes vs stover". 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 #446,675 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list