If you’re writing a text, email, school assignment, or social media post, you may pause over whiny vs whiney. Both spellings appear in English, but they aren’t equally common or equally useful in every context. Whiny is the standard and most widely preferred spelling in American English. Whiney is a less common variant that appears … Read more

If you’re writing a restaurant review, updating a resume, or describing someone who prepares food professionally, you may wonder about cheff vs. chef. Although the two spellings look similar, only chef is correct in standard American English. Cheff is a common spelling mistake. A chef is a professional cook who prepares food, develops recipes, or … Read more

If you’re writing an email, essay, resume, or text and wondering about offered vs. offerred, the correct spelling is offered. The word offerred is a common misspelling and is not accepted in standard American English. Offered is the past tense and past participle of offer. It means to give, present, propose, or make something available … Read more

If you’re writing an email, school assignment, resume, or text and wonder whether “writen or written” is correct, the answer is simple: written is the correct spelling. “Writen” is a common spelling mistake. Written is the past participle of the verb write. You can rewrite it in active voice as: Writers use “written” with forms … Read more

If you’re writing an email, essay, text, or social media post and wonder whether definately is the correct spelling, the answer is no. The correct spelling is definitely, while definately is a common misspelling that should be avoided in standard American English. Definitely means “without doubt” or “certainly” and is commonly used to emphasize that … Read more

If you’ve ever searched for a cute stuffed animal online, you may have noticed both “plushie” and “plushy.” They look almost identical, but they do not always serve the same grammatical purpose. “Plushie” is usually a noun for a soft stuffed toy, while “plushy” is usually an adjective meaning soft, padded, or plush-like. In casual … Read more

If you’re writing an email, school assignment, article, or text and aren’t sure whether to use sentence or sentance, the correct spelling is sentence. Sentance is a common misspelling and is not considered correct in standard American English. Knowing the difference can help you avoid a simple spelling mistake in both formal and everyday writing. … Read more

If you’re writing about a royal title, a noblewoman, or someone associated with a duke, you may wonder about dutchess vs duchess. The two spellings look almost identical, but only one is the standard English spelling. Duchess is the correct spelling for the feminine title corresponding to duke. Dutchess is generally an incorrect spelling when … Read more

If you’ve come across the phrase “the ballot or the bullet” in a history class, article, speech, or political discussion, you may wonder what it means. The phrase is best known as the title of a 1964 speech by Malcolm X about voting, political power, civil rights, and the frustration surrounding racial inequality in the … Read more

If you’re writing an email, essay, text message, or application and you’re unsure whether to use choosing or chosing, the correct spelling is choosing. Chosing is a common misspelling and is not considered correct in standard American English. Choosing is the present participle and gerund form of the verb choose. To form it, you drop … Read more