Which to use
“tabby” and “toby” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,725
- “tabby” frequency rank
- #11,808
- “toby” frequency rank
- 49533
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tabby | toby |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A kind of waved silk, usually called watered silk, manufactured like taffeta, but thicker and stronger. The watering is given to it by calendering. | A drinking mug, in the shape of a human head with a hat atop; a Toby jug. |
Letter map: tabby vs toby
Shared letters muted; letters that set tabby and toby apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.
Pair insight - tabby / toby
tabby and toby are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49533, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tabby is recorded at frequency rank #37,725, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈtæb.i/. toby is at rank #11,808, tagged as anoun.
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 49533, this pair ranks #182,686 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tabby vs toby
Shared letters: bty. Private to "tabby": a. Private to "toby": o.
"tabby" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "toby" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tabby" and "toby" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "tabby" vs "toby" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pair "tabby" vs "toby" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "tabby" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "toby" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #182,686 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tabby" and "toby" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tabby vs tangy". 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 #182,686 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.