Which to use
“times” and “tine” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #250
- “times” frequency rank
- #44,530
- “tine” frequency rank
- 44780
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | times | tine |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of time | A spike or point on an implement or tool, especially a prong of a fork or a tooth of a comb. |
Where the eye mixes times and tine
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. times runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against tine's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: times vs tine
A purely visual mix-up. times (/taɪmz/) and tine (/taɪn/) 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 44780, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
times is recorded at frequency rank #250, classified as anoun, pronounced /taɪmz/. tine is at rank #44,530, tagged as anoun, pronounced /taɪn/.
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 44780, this pair ranks #227,401 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of times vs tine
Shared letters: eit. Private to "times": ms. Private to "tine": n.
"times" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "tine" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "times" and "tine" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "times" vs "tine" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "times" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tine" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #227,401 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "times" and "tine" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tine vs tobe". 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 #227,401 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.