Which to use
“target” is a noun and “tart” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,619
- “target” frequency rank
- #17,975
- “tart” frequency rank
- 19594
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | target | tart |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A butt or mark to shoot at, as for practice, or to test the accuracy of a firearm, or the force of a projectile. | Sharp to the taste; acid; sour. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set target and tart apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: target is /ˈtɑː.ɡɪt/ while tart is /tɑɹt/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19594, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
target is recorded at frequency rank #1,619, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈtɑː.ɡɪt/. tart is at rank #17,975, tagged as anadj, pronounced /tɑɹt/.
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 19594, this pair ranks #437,066 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of target vs tart
Shared letters: art. Private to "target": eg. Private to "tart": -.
"target" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "tart" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "target" and "tart" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "target" or "tart"?
Remembering target vs tart
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “target”; for an adjective, it's “tart”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “target” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable