Which to use
“worn” is an adjective and “wot” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,644
- “worn” frequency rank
- #28,090
- “wot” frequency rank
- 32734
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | worn | wot |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Damaged and shabby as a result of much use. | To know (in the sense of knowing a fact). |
Where the eye mixes worn and wot
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between worn and wot
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: worn is /wɔːn/ while wot is /wɔt/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32734, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
worn is recorded at frequency rank #4,644, classified as anadj, pronounced /wɔːn/. wot is at rank #28,090, tagged as averb, pronounced /wɔt/.
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 32734, this pair ranks #335,356 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of worn vs wot
Shared letters: ow. Private to "worn": nr. Private to "wot": t.
"worn" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "wot" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- worn ← owrn · wonr · wornn · worrn · wron · wworn
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "worn" and "wot" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "worn" or "wot" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "worn" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wot" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #335,356 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "worn" and "wot" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wot 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 #335,356 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.