waughvsweighWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: waugh is a adjective, weigh is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“waugh” is an adjective and “weigh” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#31,404
“waugh” frequency rank
#7,303
“weigh” frequency rank
38707
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature waugh weigh
Definition Insipid; tasteless. To determine the weight of an object.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set waugh and weigh apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
waugh
5 ch
weigh

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: waugh is anadjective and weighaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38707, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

waugh is recorded at frequency rank #31,404, classified as anadj. weigh is at rank #7,303, tagged as averb, pronounced /weɪ/.

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 38707, this pair ranks #283,522 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of waugh vs weigh

Shared letters: ghw. Private to "waugh": au. Private to "weigh": ei.

"waugh" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC  ·  "weigh" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • waughawugh · waguh · wauggh · waughh · wauhg · wuagh · wwaugh
  • weighewigh · wegih · weiggh · weighh · weihg · wiegh · wweigh

Frequency comparison

waugh#31,404
weigh#7,303

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "waugh" and "weigh" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "waugh" is an adjective and "weigh" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "waugh" or "weigh"?
"weigh" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,303 in our English list, against #31,404 for "waugh". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering waugh vs weigh

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “waugh”; for a verb, it's “weigh”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “waugh” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list