dockvsdunkWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“dock” and “dunk” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#31,449
“dock” frequency rank
#44,992
“dunk” frequency rank
76441
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dock dunk
Definition Vaste bassin entouré de quais, dans lequel entrent les vaisseaux pour déposer leurs cargaisons ou opérer leur chargement. Désigne un smash au jeu de basket.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dock and dunk apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
dock
4 ch
dunk

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. dock (\dɔk\) and dunk (\dœŋk\) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76441, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dock is recorded at frequency rank #31,449, classified as anoun, pronounced \dɔk\. dunk is at rank #44,992, tagged as anoun, pronounced \dœŋk\.

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 76441, this pair ranks #31,142 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of dock vs dunk

Shared letters: dk. Private to "dock": co. Private to "dunk": nu.

"dock" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "dunk" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dockdcok · ddock · docck · dockk · dokc · odck
  • dunkddunk · dnuk · dukn · dunkk · dunnk · udnk

Frequency comparison

dock#31,449
dunk#44,992

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dock" and "dunk" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\dɔk\ versus \dœŋk\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "dock" or "dunk"?
"dock" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,449 in our French list, against #44,992 for "dunk". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dock vs dunk

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dock” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list