Which to use
“waite” and “waited” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,281
- “waite” frequency rank
- #4,642
- “waited” frequency rank
- 34923
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | waite | waited |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Archaic spelling of wait. | simple past and past participle of wait |
Letter map: waite vs waited
Shared letters muted; letters that set waite and waited apart highlighted. Shared run: 5. waite runs 5 letters (CVVCV) against waited's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Pair insight - waite / waited
waite and waited are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “waite” sits inside “waited”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34923, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
waite is recorded at frequency rank #30,281, classified as averb. waited is at rank #4,642, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈweɪt.ɪd/.
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 34923, this pair ranks #316,462 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of waite vs waited
Shared letters: aeitw. Private to "waite": -. Private to "waited": d.
"waite" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "waited" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "waite" and "waited" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "waite" vs "waited" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pair "waite" vs "waited" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "waite" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "waited" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #316,462 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "waite" and "waited" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "waifu vs waite". 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 #316,462 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.