Which to use
“stops” and “store” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,657
- “stops” frequency rank
- #1,030
- “store” frequency rank
- 4687
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stops | store |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of stop | A place where items may be accumulated or routinely kept. |
Where the eye mixes stops and store
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: stops vs store
A purely visual mix-up. stops (/stɒps/) and store (/stɔː/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4687, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
stops is recorded at frequency rank #3,657, classified as anoun, pronounced /stɒps/. store is at rank #1,030, tagged as anoun, pronounced /stɔː/.
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 4687, this pair ranks #518,045 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of stops vs store
Shared letters: ost. Private to "stops": p. Private to "store": er.
"stops" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "store" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "stops" for "store" ever safe?
Frequency check: "stops" vs "store" - 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 "stops" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "store" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #518,045 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stops" and "store" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "staph vs stops". 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 #518,045 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.