taservstasterConfusable pair

Which to use

“taser” and “taster” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#24,017
“taser” frequency rank
#41,412
“taster” frequency rank
65429
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature taser taster
Definition A Taser, a handheld device made by Taser International intended to immobilize another by delivering an electric shock. An object in which, or by which, food or drink is tasted, such as a small cup.

Where the eye mixes taser and taster

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

5 ch
taser
6 ch
taster

Look-alike desk: taser vs taster

A purely visual mix-up. taser (/ˈteɪ.zə(ɹ)/) and taster (/teɪstɚ/) 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 65429, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

taser is recorded at frequency rank #24,017, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈteɪ.zə(ɹ)/. taster is at rank #41,412, tagged as anoun, pronounced /teɪstɚ/.

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 65429, this pair ranks #72,787 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of taser vs taster

Shared letters: aerst. Private to "taser": -. Private to "taster": -.

"taser" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "taster" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • taseratser · taesr · taserr · tasre · tasser · tsaer · ttaser
  • tasteratster · tasetr · tasster · tasterr · tastre · tastter · tatser · tsater

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "taser" for "taster" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/ˈteɪ.zə(ɹ)/ versus /teɪstɚ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "taser" vs "taster" - which ranks higher?
"taser" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,017 in our English list, against #41,412 for "taster". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "taser" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "taster" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #72,787 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "taser" and "taster" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "taster vs tatters". 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 #72,787 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list