Which to use
“cast” and “cost” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,723
- “cast” frequency rank
- #22,928
- “cost” frequency rank
- 40651
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cast | cost |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | arremesso | custo |
Where the eye mixes cast and cost
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between cast and cost
A purely visual mix-up. cast (/kæst/) and cost (/ˈkɔst/) 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 - a in “cast” becomes o in “cost”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40651, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cast is recorded at frequency rank #17,723, classified as anoun, pronounced /kæst/. cost is at rank #22,928, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɔst/.
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 40651, this pair ranks #25,415 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cast vs cost
Shared letters: cst. Private to "cast": a. Private to "cost": o.
"cast" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "cost" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "cast" and "cost" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "cast" vs "cost" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cast" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cost" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #25,415 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cast" and "cost" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "copta vs cost". 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 #25,415 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.