weighsvswightWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: weighs is a verb, wight is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“weighs” is a verb and “wight” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#11,495
“weighs” frequency rank
#21,706
“wight” frequency rank
33201
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature weighs wight
Definition third-person singular simple present indicative of weigh A living creature, especially a human being.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set weighs and wight apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
weighs
5 ch
wight

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: weighs is /weɪz/ while wight is /waɪt/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33201, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

weighs is recorded at frequency rank #11,495, classified as averb, pronounced /weɪz/. wight is at rank #21,706, tagged as anoun, pronounced /waɪt/.

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 33201, this pair ranks #331,452 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of weighs vs wight

Shared letters: ghiw. Private to "weighs": es. Private to "wight": t.

"weighs" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCC  ·  "wight" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • weighsewighs · wegihs · weigghs · weighhs · weighss · weigsh · weihgs · wieghs
  • wightiwght · wgiht · wigght · wighht · wightt · wigth · wihgt · wwight

Frequency comparison

weighs#11,495
wight#21,706

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "weighs" and "wight" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "weighs" is a verb and "wight" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "weighs" or "wight"?
"weighs" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,495 in our English list, against #21,706 for "wight". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering weighs vs wight

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “weighs”; for a noun, it's “wight”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “weighs” 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