feedvsfieldWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: feed is a verb, field is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“feed” is a verb and “field” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#27,809
“feed” frequency rank
#17,136
“field” frequency rank
44945
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature feed field
Definition Nourrir, alimenter. Champ (terre).

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set feed and field apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
feed
5 ch
field

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: feed is \fiːd\ while field is \fiːld\. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44945, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

feed is recorded at frequency rank #27,809, classified as averb, pronounced \fiːd\. field is at rank #17,136, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fiːld\.

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 44945, this pair ranks #206,618 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of feed vs field

Shared letters: def. Private to "feed": -. Private to "field": il.

"feed" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "field" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • feedefed · fede · feedd · ffeed
  • fieldfeild · ffield · fiedl · fieldd · fielld · filed · ifeld

Frequency comparison

feed#27,809
field#17,136

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "feed" and "field" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "feed" is a verb and "field" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "feed" or "field"?
"field" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,136 in our French list, against #27,809 for "feed". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering feed vs field

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “feed”; for a noun, it's “field”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “feed” 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