Which to use
“sum” and “sums” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,050
- “sum” frequency rank
- #8,361
- “sums” frequency rank
- 12411
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sum | sums |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A quantity obtained by addition or aggregation. | plural of sum |
Where the eye mixes sum and sums
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between sum and sums
A purely visual mix-up. sum (/sʌm/) and sums (/sʌmz/) 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 extra letter(s) - “sum” sits inside “sums”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12411, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sum is recorded at frequency rank #4,050, classified as anoun, pronounced /sʌm/. sums is at rank #8,361, tagged as anoun, pronounced /sʌmz/.
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 12411, this pair ranks #481,723 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sum vs sums
Shared letters: msu. Private to "sum": -. Private to "sums": -.
"sum" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "sums" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- sums ← smus · ssums · summs · sumss · susm · usms
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sum" for "sums" ever safe?
Which is more common, "sum" or "sums"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "sum" and "sums" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "sum" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sums" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #481,723 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sum" and "sums" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sums vs sura". 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 #481,723 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.