Which to use
“waits” and “wit” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,637
- “waits” frequency rank
- #7,637
- “wit” frequency rank
- 19274
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | waits | wit |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of wait | Sanity. |
Where the eye mixes waits and wit
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between waits and wit
A purely visual mix-up. waits (/weɪts/) and wit (/wɪt/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19274, 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/. wit is at rank #7,637, tagged as anoun, pronounced /wɪt/.
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 19274, this pair ranks #439,305 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of waits vs wit
Shared letters: itw. Private to "waits": as. Private to "wit": -.
"waits" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "wit" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- waits ← awits · waitss · waitts · watis · wiats · wwaits
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "waits" for "wit" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "waits" or "wit" show up more?
What to do next
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 "wit" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #439,305 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "waits" and "wit" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "waifu vs waits". 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 #439,305 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.