Which to use
“tape” and “toe” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,398
- “tape” frequency rank
- #6,424
- “toe” frequency rank
- 9822
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tape | toe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Flexible material in a roll with a sticky surface on one or both sides; adhesive tape. | Each of the five digits on the end of the human foot. |
Where the eye mixes tape and toe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between tape and toe
A purely visual mix-up. tape (/teɪ̯p/) and toe (/təʊ/) 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 9822, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tape is recorded at frequency rank #3,398, classified as anoun, pronounced /teɪ̯p/. toe is at rank #6,424, tagged as anoun, pronounced /təʊ/.
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 9822, this pair ranks #495,403 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of tape vs toe
Shared letters: et. Private to "tape": ap. Private to "toe": o.
"tape" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "toe" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- tape ← atpe · taep · tappe · tpae · ttape
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "tape" and "toe" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "tape" vs "toe" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "tape" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "toe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #495,403 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tape" and "toe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Taf vs toe". 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 #495,403 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.