Which to use
“withers” and “writers” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,892
- “withers” frequency rank
- #2,769
- “writers” frequency rank
- 32661
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | withers | writers |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The part of the back of a four-legged animal that is between the shoulder blades; in many species the highest point of the body and the standard place to measure the animal's height. | plural of writer |
Where the eye mixes withers and writers
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: withers vs writers
A purely visual mix-up. withers (/ˈwɪð.ɚz/) and writers (/ˈɹaɪtɚz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32661, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
withers is recorded at frequency rank #29,892, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈwɪð.ɚz/. writers is at rank #2,769, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɹaɪtɚz/.
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 32661, this pair ranks #335,980 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of withers vs writers
Shared letters: eirstw. Private to "withers": h. Private to "writers": -.
"withers" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "writers" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "withers" for "writers" ever safe?
Which is more common, "withers" or "writers"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "withers" and "writers" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "withers" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "writers" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #335,980 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "withers" and "writers" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Watters vs withers". 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 #335,980 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.