Which to use
“word” and “words” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #555
- “word” frequency rank
- #566
- “words” frequency rank
- 1121
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | word | words |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The smallest unit of language that has a particular meaning and can be expressed by itself; the smallest discrete, meaningful unit of language. (contrast morpheme.) | plural of word |
Where the eye mixes word and words
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. word (/wɜːd/) and words (/wɜːdz/) 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) - “word” sits inside “words”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1121, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
word is recorded at frequency rank #555, classified as anoun, pronounced /wɜːd/. words is at rank #566, tagged as anoun, pronounced /wɜːdz/.
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 1121, this pair ranks #528,050 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of word vs words
Shared letters: dorw. Private to "word": -. Private to "words": s.
"word" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "words" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC