Which to use
“words” and “worm” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #566
- “words” frequency rank
- #10,156
- “worm” frequency rank
- 10722
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | words | worm |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of word | A generally tubular invertebrate of the annelid phylum; an earthworm. |
Where the eye mixes words and worm
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: words vs worm
A purely visual mix-up. words (/wɜːdz/) and worm (/wɜːm/) 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 10722, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
words is recorded at frequency rank #566, classified as anoun, pronounced /wɜːdz/. worm is at rank #10,156, tagged as anoun, pronounced /wɜːm/.
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 10722, this pair ranks #490,862 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of words vs worm
Shared letters: orw. Private to "words": ds. Private to "worm": m.
"words" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "worm" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "words" and "worm" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "words" or "worm" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "words" and "worm" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "words" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "worm" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #490,862 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "words" and "worm" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "worm vs wove". 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 #490,862 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.