tiltvstolWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: tilt is a verb, tol is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“tilt” is a verb and “tol” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#11,988
“tilt” frequency rank
#41,433
“tol” frequency rank
53421
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tilt tol
Definition To slope or incline (something); to slant. Tall.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tilt and tol apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
tilt
3 ch
tol

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: tilt is averb and tolanadjective. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53421, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tilt is recorded at frequency rank #11,988, classified as averb, pronounced /tɪlt/. tol is at rank #41,433, tagged as anadj.

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 53421, this pair ranks #149,140 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tilt vs tol

Shared letters: lt. Private to "tilt": i. Private to "tol": o.

"tilt" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "tol" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tiltitlt · tillt · tiltt · titl · tlit · ttilt

Frequency comparison

tilt#11,988
tol#41,433

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tilt" and "tol" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tilt" is a verb and "tol" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "tilt" or "tol"?
"tilt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,988 in our English list, against #41,433 for "tol". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering tilt vs tol

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “tilt”; for an adjective, it's “tol”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “tilt” 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