sudvssumpWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“sud” and “sump” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#37,717
“sud” frequency rank
#41,400
“sump” frequency rank
79117
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sud sump
Definition A bubble of lather or foam (the singular of suds). A hollow or pit into which liquid drains, such as a cesspool, cesspit or sink.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sud and sump apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
sud
4 ch
sump

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. sud (/sʌd/) and sump (/sʌmp/) 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 79117, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sud is recorded at frequency rank #37,717, classified as anoun, pronounced /sʌd/. sump is at rank #41,400, tagged as anoun, pronounced /sʌmp/.

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 79117, this pair ranks #22,861 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of sud vs sump

Shared letters: su. Private to "sud": d. Private to "sump": mp.

"sud" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "sump" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sumpsmup · ssump · summp · sumpp · supm · usmp

Frequency comparison

sud#37,717
sump#41,400

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sud" and "sump" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/sʌd/ versus /sʌmp/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "sud" or "sump"?
"sud" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #37,717 in our English list, against #41,400 for "sump". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sud vs sump

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sud” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list