Which to use
“weigh” and “weighs” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,303
- “weigh” frequency rank
- #11,495
- “weighs” frequency rank
- 18798
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | weigh | weighs |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To determine the weight of an object. | third-person singular simple present indicative of weigh |
Where the eye mixes weigh and weighs
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. weigh runs 5 letters (CVVCC) against weighs's 6 (CVVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: weigh vs weighs
A purely visual mix-up. weigh (/weɪ/) and weighs (/weɪz/) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “weigh” sits inside “weighs”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18798, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
weigh is recorded at frequency rank #7,303, classified as averb, pronounced /weɪ/. weighs is at rank #11,495, tagged as averb, pronounced /weɪz/.
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 18798, this pair ranks #442,467 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of weigh vs weighs
Shared letters: eghiw. Private to "weigh": -. Private to "weighs": s.
"weigh" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "weighs" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "weigh" and "weighs" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "weigh" or "weighs"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "weigh" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "weighs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #442,467 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "weigh" and "weighs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "weigh vs wench". 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 #442,467 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.