Which to use
“tarmac” and “tartan” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,675
- “tarmac” frequency rank
- #32,617
- “tartan” frequency rank
- 60292
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tarmac | tartan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tarmacadam. | Woven woollen fabric with a distinctive pattern of coloured stripes intersecting at right angles originally associated with Scottish Highlanders, now with different clans (though this only dates from the late 18th century) and some Scottish families and institutions having their own patterns; (countable) a particular type of such fabric. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tarmac and tartan apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
tarmac and tartan form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60292, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tarmac is recorded at frequency rank #27,675, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈtɑː(ɹ)mæk/. tartan is at rank #32,617, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈtɑːt(ə)n/.
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 60292, this pair ranks #101,011 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tarmac" and "tartan" be used interchangeably?
Remembering tarmac vs tartan
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 “tarmac” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable