Which to use
“turn” and “turns” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #484
- “turn” frequency rank
- #1,804
- “turns” frequency rank
- 2288
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | turn | turns |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To make a non-linear physical movement. | third-person singular simple present indicative of turn |
Where the eye mixes turn and turns
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. turn (/tɜːn/) and turns (/tɝnz/) 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 extra letter(s) - “turn” sits inside “turns”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2288, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
turn is recorded at frequency rank #484, classified as averb, pronounced /tɜːn/. turns is at rank #1,804, tagged as averb, pronounced /tɝnz/.
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 2288, this pair ranks #525,351 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of turn vs turns
Shared letters: nrtu. Private to "turn": -. Private to "turns": s.
"turn" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "turns" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC