triplevstriplesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: triple is a adjective, triples is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“triple” is an adjective and “triples” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,278
“triple” frequency rank
#34,326
“triples” frequency rank
38604
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature triple triples
Definition Made up of three related elements, often matching bell changes rung on seven bells

Letter map: triple vs triples

Shared letters muted; letters that set triple and triples apart highlighted. Shared run: 6.

6 ch
triple
7 ch
triples

Part-of-speech tell for triple / triples

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: triple is anadjective and triplesanoun. On the page they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “triple” sits inside “triples”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38604, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

triple is recorded at frequency rank #4,278, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈtɹɪp.əl/. triples is at rank #34,326, tagged as anoun.

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 38604, this pair ranks #284,452 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of triple vs triples

Shared letters: eilprt. Private to "triple": -. Private to "triples": s.

"triple" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "triples" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • triplertiple · tirple · trilpe · tripel · triplle · tripple · trpile · trriple
  • triplesrtiples · tirples · trilpes · tripels · tripless · triplles · triplse · tripples

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "triple" and "triples" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "triple" is an adjective and "triples" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "triple" or "triples"?
"triple" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,278 in our English list, against #34,326 for "triples". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pair "triple" vs "triples" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "triple" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "triples" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #284,452 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "triple" and "triples" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "triples vs triplet". 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 #284,452 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list