Which to use
“took” and “tow” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #292
- “took” frequency rank
- #10,950
- “tow” frequency rank
- 11242
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | took | tow |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past of take | To pull something behind one, such as by using a line, chain, or tongue. |
Where the eye mixes took and tow
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between took and tow
A purely visual mix-up. took (/tʊk/) and tow (/təʊ/) 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 11242, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
took is recorded at frequency rank #292, classified as averb, pronounced /tʊk/. tow is at rank #10,950, tagged as averb, pronounced /təʊ/.
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 11242, this pair ranks #488,130 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of took vs tow
Shared letters: ot. Private to "took": k. Private to "tow": w.
"took" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "tow" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- took ← otok · toko · tookk · ttook
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "took" and "tow" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "took" vs "tow" - which ranks higher?
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 "tow" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #488,130 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "took" and "tow" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Taf vs tow". 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 #488,130 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.