Which to use
“work” is a noun and “wove” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #116
- “work” frequency rank
- #49,728
- “wove” frequency rank
- 49844
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | work | wove |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Employment. | simple past of weave |
Where the eye mixes work and wove
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between work and wove
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: work is /wɜː(ɹ)k/ while wove is /wəʊv/. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49844, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
work is recorded at frequency rank #116, classified as anoun, pronounced /wɜː(ɹ)k/. wove is at rank #49,728, tagged as averb, pronounced /wəʊv/.
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 49844, this pair ranks #179,747 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of work vs wove
Shared letters: ow. Private to "work": kr. Private to "wove": ev.
"work" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "wove" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "work" and "wove" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "work" vs "wove" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "work" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wove" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #179,747 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "work" and "wove" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wile 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 #179,747 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.