Which to use
“wipe” and “wiped” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,086
- “wipe” frequency rank
- #8,878
- “wiped” frequency rank
- 15964
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wipe | wiped |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To move an object over, maintaining contact, with the intention of removing some substance from the surface. (Compare rub.) | simple past and past participle of wipe |
Where the eye mixes wipe and wiped
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses wipe with wiped
A purely visual mix-up. wipe (/waɪp/) and wiped (/waɪpt/) 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) - “wipe” sits inside “wiped”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15964, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wipe is recorded at frequency rank #7,086, classified as averb, pronounced /waɪp/. wiped is at rank #8,878, tagged as averb, pronounced /waɪpt/.
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 15964, this pair ranks #460,757 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of wipe vs wiped
Shared letters: eipw. Private to "wipe": -. Private to "wiped": d.
"wipe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "wiped" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "wipe" and "wiped" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "wipe" vs "wiped" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "wipe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wiped" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #460,757 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wipe" and "wiped" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "whined vs wiped". 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 #460,757 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.