worksvswormsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#28,411
“works” frequency rank
#35,777
“worms” frequency rank
64188
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature works worms
Definition Pluriel de work (« travail, œuvre »). Pluriel de worm.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set works and worms apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
works
5 ch
worms

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. works (\ˈwɝks\) and worms (\wɜːms\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - k in “works” becomes m in “worms”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64188, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

works is recorded at frequency rank #28,411, classified as anoun, pronounced \ˈwɝks\. worms is at rank #35,777, tagged as anoun, pronounced \wɜːms\.

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 64188, this pair ranks #78,274 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of works vs worms

Shared letters: orsw. Private to "works": k. Private to "worms": m.

"works" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "worms" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • worksowrks · wokrs · workks · workss · worrks · worsk · wroks · wworks
  • wormsowrms · womrs · wormms · wormss · worrms · worsm · wroms · wworms

Frequency comparison

works#28,411
worms#35,777

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "works" and "worms" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ˈwɝks\ versus \wɜːms\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "works" or "worms"?
"works" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,411 in our French list, against #35,777 for "worms". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering works vs worms

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 “works” 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