Which to use
“waits” and “wares” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,637
- “waits” frequency rank
- #23,152
- “wares” frequency rank
- 34789
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | waits | wares |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of wait | plural of ware |
Where the eye mixes waits and wares
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. waits (CVVCC) and wares (CVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: waits vs wares
A purely visual mix-up. waits (/weɪts/) and wares (/wɛəz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34789, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
waits is recorded at frequency rank #11,637, classified as anoun, pronounced /weɪts/. wares is at rank #23,152, tagged as anoun, pronounced /wɛəz/.
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 34789, this pair ranks #317,676 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of waits vs wares
Shared letters: asw. Private to "waits": it. Private to "wares": er.
"waits" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "wares" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "waits" for "wares" ever safe?
Frequency check: "waits" vs "wares" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "waits" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wares" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #317,676 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "waits" and "wares" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wares vs wrest". 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 #317,676 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.