Commonly confused words

blue collar vs white collar

Blue collar refers to manual and skilled trade work; white collar to salaried office and professional work. Th...

bolt vs screw

A bolt passes through a hole and is held by a separate nut — "bolt the bracket to the frame and tighten the nu...

bonded vs insured

Insurance protects the business against its own losses — accidents, damage, injury claims. A bond protects the...

bookshelf vs bookcase

A bookshelf is one shelf. A bookcase is a piece of furniture with several shelves in a frame. A bookcase conta...

boot vs trunk

For the storage space at the back of a car, <strong>boot</strong> is the British word and <strong>trunk</stron...

born vs borne

Born relates to birth: she was born in Leeds. Borne is the past participle of bear in every other sense — carr...

borrow vs lend

Borrow means to take something temporarily: "Can I borrow your charger?" Lend means to give something temporar...

bow vs stern

The bow is the front of a boat or ship — "waves broke over the bow as she turned into the swell". The stern is...

brake vs break

Brake is about slowing down — the pedal in your car, or the act of using it: "She braked hard at the junction....

brandy vs cognac

Cognac is a brandy, but brandy is not necessarily cognac. Brandy is any spirit distilled from fermented fruit,...

bratwurst vs sausage

Sausage is the general category — seasoned minced meat in a casing. Bratwurst is one German type, usually pork...

breach vs breech

A breach is a break or a violation — a breach of contract, a breach in the wall. Breech refers to the rear par...

breath vs breathe

Breath is the noun: the air you take in, or one instance of doing so. <em>She took a deep breath before knocki...

briefcase vs suitcase

A briefcase carries documents and a laptop — flat, rigid, hand-carried, sized for papers. A suitcase carries c...

bring vs take

Direction decides it: bring is movement towards the place you're speaking from, take is movement away from it....

Britain vs England

England is a country. Britain is the island that contains England, Scotland and Wales. The United Kingdom is t...

broach vs brooch

To broach is to raise a subject, or to pierce a container to draw liquid. A brooch is a decorative pin. They a...

bullhorn vs megaphone

A megaphone in the strict sense is a simple cone that channels the voice with no electronics. A bullhorn is ba...

burned vs burnt

Both are correct past forms of <em>burn</em>, and neither is a mistake. The reliable split is by job, not by c...

burro vs burrito

A burro is a donkey — the Spanish word, used in American English particularly in the Southwest. A burrito is l...

but vs butt

But is the little joining word meaning "however" or "except": "I'd come, but I'm working late." Butt, with two...

buy vs bye

Buy means to purchase: "I'll buy the coffee", "that jacket was a good buy". Bye is a short farewell, or in spo...

by vs bye

By is the everyday preposition — beside, via, through, or no later than: "the chair by the window", "finish by...

callous vs callus

Callous with an O is an adjective meaning emotionally hardened — a callous remark. A callus without it is a no...