Which to use
“tolling” is a noun and “trolling” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #43,967
- “tolling” frequency rank
- #16,373
- “trolling” frequency rank
- 60340
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tolling | trolling |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The act by which a bell is tolled. | present participle and gerund of troll |
Letter map: tolling vs trolling
Shared letters muted; letters that set tolling and trolling apart highlighted. Shared run: 7.
Grammar separator: tolling vs trolling
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: tolling is anoun and trollingaverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60340, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tolling is recorded at frequency rank #43,967, classified as anoun. trolling is at rank #16,373, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈtɹɒlɪŋ/.
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 60340, this pair ranks #100,709 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of tolling vs trolling
Shared letters: gilnot. Private to "tolling": -. Private to "trolling": r.
"tolling" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "trolling" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tolling" for "trolling" ever safe?
Which is more common, "tolling" or "trolling"?
What to do next
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "tolling" and "trolling".
- Full dictionary entry for "tolling" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "trolling" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #100,709 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tolling" and "trolling" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "toiling vs tolling". 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 #100,709 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.