Which to use
“took” is a verb and “tor” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #292
- “took” frequency rank
- #13,625
- “tor” frequency rank
- 13917
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | took | tor |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past of take | A craggy outcrop of rock on the summit of a hill, created by the erosion and weathering of rock. |
Where the eye mixes took and tor
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between took and tor
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: took is /tʊk/ while tor is /tɔː/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13917, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
took is recorded at frequency rank #292, classified as averb, pronounced /tʊk/. tor is at rank #13,625, tagged as anoun, pronounced /tɔː/.
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 13917, this pair ranks #473,118 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of took vs tor
Shared letters: ot. Private to "took": k. Private to "tor": r.
"took" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "tor" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- took ← otok · toko · tookk · ttook
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "took" and "tor" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "took" or "tor"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "took" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tor" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #473,118 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "took" and "tor" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Taf vs tor". 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 #473,118 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.