Which to use
“strike” is a verb and “strikes” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,234
- “strike” frequency rank
- #4,717
- “strikes” frequency rank
- 6951
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | strike | strikes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To delete or cross out; to scratch or eliminate. | plural of strike |
Where the eye mixes strike and strikes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses strike with strikes
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: strike is /stɹaɪk/ while strikes is /stɹaɪks/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “strike” sits inside “strikes”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6951, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
strike is recorded at frequency rank #2,234, classified as averb, pronounced /stɹaɪk/. strikes is at rank #4,717, tagged as anoun, pronounced /stɹaɪks/.
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 6951, this pair ranks #509,278 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of strike vs strikes
Shared letters: eikrst. Private to "strike": -. Private to "strikes": -.
"strike" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCV · "strikes" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "strike" and "strikes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "strike" vs "strikes" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "strike" and "strikes" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "strike" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "strikes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #509,278 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "strike" and "strikes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "serine vs strike". 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 #509,278 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.