Which to use
“wedge” is a noun and “weigh” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,715
- “wedge” frequency rank
- #7,303
- “weigh” frequency rank
- 20018
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wedge | weigh |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | One of the simple machines; a piece of material, such as metal or wood, thick at one edge and tapered to a thin edge at the other for insertion in a narrow crevice, used for splitting, tightening, securing, or levering. | To determine the weight of an object. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set wedge and weigh apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wedge is /wɛd͡ʒ/ while weigh is /weɪ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20018, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wedge is recorded at frequency rank #12,715, classified as anoun, pronounced /wɛd͡ʒ/. 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 20018, this pair ranks #434,104 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of wedge vs weigh
Shared letters: egw. Private to "wedge": d. Private to "weigh": hi.
"wedge" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "weigh" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "wedge" and "weigh" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "wedge" or "weigh"?
Remembering wedge vs weigh
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “wedge”; for a verb, it's “weigh”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “wedge” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable