Which to use
“wink” is a verb and “wire” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,085
- “wink” frequency rank
- #3,460
- “wire” frequency rank
- 18545
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wink | wire |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To close one's eyes in sleep. | Metal formed into a thin, even thread, now usually by being drawn through a hole in a steel die. |
Where the eye mixes wink and wire
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses wink with wire
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wink is /ˈwɪŋk/ while wire is /waɪə(ɹ)/. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18545, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wink is recorded at frequency rank #15,085, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈwɪŋk/. wire is at rank #3,460, tagged as anoun, pronounced /waɪə(ɹ)/.
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 18545, this pair ranks #444,174 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of wink vs wire
Shared letters: iw. Private to "wink": kn. Private to "wire": er.
"wink" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "wire" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "wink" for "wire" ever safe?
Which is more common, "wink" or "wire"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "wink" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wire" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #444,174 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wink" and "wire" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wince vs wink". 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 #444,174 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.