Which to use
“wings” and “wits” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,404
- “wings” frequency rank
- #19,257
- “wits” frequency rank
- 22661
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wings | wits |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of wing | plural of wit |
Where the eye mixes wings and wits
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between wings and wits
A purely visual mix-up. wings (/wɪŋz/) and wits (/wɪts/) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22661, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wings is recorded at frequency rank #3,404, classified as anoun, pronounced /wɪŋz/. wits is at rank #19,257, tagged as anoun, pronounced /wɪts/.
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 22661, this pair ranks #414,936 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of wings vs wits
Shared letters: isw. Private to "wings": gn. Private to "wits": t.
"wings" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "wits" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "wings" for "wits" ever safe?
Frequency check: "wings" vs "wits" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "wings" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wits" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #414,936 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wings" and "wits" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wim vs wits". 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 #414,936 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.