Which to use
“hold” is an adjective and “hole” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,383
- “hold” frequency rank
- #28,986
- “hole” frequency rank
- 45369
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hold | hole |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Gracieux. | Trou. |
Where the eye mixes hold and hole
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: hold vs hole
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hold is \hɔlt\ while hole is \ˈhoʊl\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - d in “hold” becomes e in “hole”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45369, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hold is recorded at frequency rank #16,383, classified as anadj, pronounced \hɔlt\. hole is at rank #28,986, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈhoʊl\.
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 45369, this pair ranks #203,221 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hold vs hole
Shared letters: hlo. Private to "hold": d. Private to "hole": e.
"hold" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "hole" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hold" and "hole" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "hold" vs "hole" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "hold" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hole" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #203,221 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hold" and "hole" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hae vs hole". 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 #203,221 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.