# tern vs tire

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### tern
*noun · IPA /tɜːn/ · frequency rank #40,923*
Any of various seabirds of the subfamily Sterninae (of the family Laridae) that are similar to gulls but are smaller and have a forked tail.

### tire
*verb · IPA /ˈtaɪ̯ə(ɹ)/ · frequency rank #6,970*
To become sleepy or weary.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tern-vs-tire