Which to use
“weights” is a noun and “weighty” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,875
- “weights” frequency rank
- #35,158
- “weighty” frequency rank
- 44033
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | weights | weighty |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of weight | Having a lot of weight; heavy. |
Where the eye mixes weights and weighty
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: weights vs weighty
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: weights is /weɪts/ while weighty is /ˈweɪti/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - s in “weights” becomes y in “weighty”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44033, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
weights is recorded at frequency rank #8,875, classified as anoun, pronounced /weɪts/. weighty is at rank #35,158, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈweɪti/.
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 44033, this pair ranks #234,331 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of weights vs weighty
Shared letters: eghitw. Private to "weights": s. Private to "weighty": y.
"weights" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCCC · "weighty" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "weights" for "weighty" ever safe?
Frequency check: "weights" vs "weighty" - which ranks higher?
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 "weights" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "weighty" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #234,331 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "weights" and "weighty" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "weighty vs wight". 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 #234,331 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.