Which to use
“sec” is an adjective and “step” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,268
- “sec” frequency rank
- #16,178
- “step” frequency rank
- 35446
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sec | step |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | seco | passo |
Letter map: sec vs step
Shared letters muted; letters that set sec and step apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.
Grammar separator: sec vs step
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: sec is anadjective and stepanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35446, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sec is recorded at frequency rank #19,268, classified as anadj, pronounced \sɛk\. step is at rank #16,178, tagged as anoun.
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 35446, this pair ranks #31,604 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sec vs step
Shared letters: es. Private to "sec": c. Private to "step": pt.
"sec" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "step" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- step ← setp · sstep · stepp · stpe · sttep · tsep
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sec" for "step" ever safe?
Frequency check: "sec" vs "step" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pair "sec" vs "step" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "sec" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "step" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #31,604 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sec" and "step" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Sau vs sec". 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 #31,604 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.