Paid is the correct past tense of pay in almost every everyday situation. Use paid when you mean someone gave money, received money, settled a bill, paid attention, or experienced a result. Payed is a real word, but it is extremely rare and mostly used in nautical contexts. For normal writing, the correct choice is…
Potatoes is the correct plural spelling of potato. Use potatoes when you mean more than one potato. Potatos is a common misspelling and should usually be avoided in standard writing. The easiest rule is simple: one potato, two potatoes. Quick Answer Use potatoes as the plural form of potato. Correct: She bought five potatoes at…
Nazi is the correct spelling. Natzi is a misspelling and should not be used in standard English. The word Nazi refers to a member or supporter of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, the political party led by Adolf Hitler in Germany. It can also describe something connected to Nazi Germany, Nazi ideology, or the…
Heroes is the correct plural spelling of hero. Use heroes when you mean more than one brave person, admired figure, main character, or hero sandwich. Heros is a common misspelling and should usually be avoided in standard writing. The easiest rule is simple: one hero, two heroes. Quick Answer Use heroes as the plural form…
Vendor and vender both refer to someone who sells something, but vendor is the standard spelling in modern English. Use vendor when you mean a seller, supplier, company, or person who provides goods or services. Vender is rare and usually looks like a misspelling. If you want the safe choice, write vendor. Quick Answer Use…
Laid and layed may look like two possible past-tense forms of lay, but only one is standard in modern English. The correct spelling is laid. Use it when you mean something was placed, arranged, prepared, or set down in the past. Layed looks logical because many verbs take -ed, but it is not the accepted…
Whoa and woah are both used to show surprise, shock, amazement, or a sudden pause, but only whoa is the standard spelling. Woah is common online and in casual messages, but it is usually treated as a misspelling or informal variant. If you want the spelling that looks correct in polished writing, use whoa. Quick…
Nosy and nosey both describe someone who is overly curious about other people’s private business. The preferred spelling is nosy, especially in standard American English and polished writing. Nosey is a less common variant, and it may appear in informal writing or certain British expressions. If you want the safer choice, use nosy. Quick Answer…
The correct spelling is separate. Seperate is a common misspelling and should not be used in standard English. Use separate when you mean apart, not joined, different, individual, or to move things away from each other. The easiest way to remember it is that separate has a after the p, not e. Quick Answer Use…
The correct plural spelling is tomatoes. Tomatos is a common misspelling and should not be used in standard English. Use tomatoes when you mean more than one tomato, whether you are writing about fresh tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, canned tomatoes, tomato plants, or tomato recipes. Quick Answer Use tomatoes, not tomatos. Correct: I bought fresh tomatoes…