waited vs weighted, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“waited” and “weighted” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#4,642
“waited” frequency rank: #11,639
“weighted” frequency rank: 16281
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	waited	weighted
Definition	simple past and past participle of wait	simple past and past participle of weight

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set waited and weighted apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

waited

8 ch

weighted

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. waited and weighted are pronounced identically (/ˈweɪt.ɪd/) and both work as averb. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16281, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

waited is recorded at frequency rank #4,642, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈweɪt.ɪd/. weighted is at rank #11,639, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈweɪ.tɪd/.

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 16281, this pair ranks #458,768 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of waited vs weighted

Shared letters: deitw. Private to "waited": a. Private to "weighted": gh.

"waited" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "weighted" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

waited ← awited · waietd · waitde · waitedd · waitted · watied · wiated · wwaited
weighted ← ewighted · wegihted · weigghted · weighetd · weighhted · weightde · weightedd · weightted

Frequency comparison

waited#4,642

weighted#11,639

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "waited" and "weighted" be used interchangeably?

No. They are pronounced the same (/ˈweɪt.ɪd/), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.

Which is more common, "waited" or "weighted"?

"waited" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,642 in our English list, against #11,639 for "weighted". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering waited vs weighted

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “waited” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable