Which to use
“stole” and “strove” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,087
- “stole” frequency rank
- #43,398
- “strove” frequency rank
- 48485
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stole | strove |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past of steal | simple past of strive |
Where the eye mixes stole and strove
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. stole runs 5 letters (CCVCV) against strove's 6 (CCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: stole vs strove
A purely visual mix-up. stole (/stəʊl/) and strove (/ˈstɹɔʊv/) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48485, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
stole is recorded at frequency rank #5,087, classified as averb, pronounced /stəʊl/. strove is at rank #43,398, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈstɹɔʊv/.
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 48485, this pair ranks #192,654 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of stole vs strove
Shared letters: eost. Private to "stole": l. Private to "strove": rv.
"stole" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "strove" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "stole" and "strove" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "stole" vs "strove" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "stole" and "strove" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "stole" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "strove" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #192,654 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stole" and "strove" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stover vs strove". 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 #192,654 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.