tickervstillerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#28,051
“ticker” frequency rank
#31,004
“tiller” frequency rank
59055
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ticker tiller
Definition One who makes a tick mark. A person who tills; a farmer.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ticker and tiller apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
ticker
6 ch
tiller

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ticker (/ˈtɪkə(ɹ)/) and tiller (/ˈtɪlə/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59055, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ticker is recorded at frequency rank #28,051, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈtɪkə(ɹ)/. tiller is at rank #31,004, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈtɪlə/.

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 59055, this pair ranks #108,585 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ticker vs tiller

Shared letters: eirt. Private to "ticker": ck. Private to "tiller": l.

"ticker" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "tiller" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tickeritcker · tciker · ticcker · ticekr · tickerr · tickker · tickre · tikcer
  • tilleritller · tilelr · tiler · tillerr · tillre · tliler · ttiller

Frequency comparison

ticker#28,051
tiller#31,004

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ticker" and "tiller" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈtɪkə(ɹ)/ versus /ˈtɪlə/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ticker" or "tiller"?
"ticker" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,051 in our English list, against #31,004 for "tiller". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ticker vs tiller

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 “ticker” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list