“Paired” or “Pared”—Which to use?

“Paired” or “Pared”

Overview

paired / pared are similar-sounding terms with different meanings (referred to as homophones). To better understand the differences, see below for definitions, pronunciation guides, and example sentences using each term. 👇

Definitions

paired: (verb) form a pair or pairs. (verb) occur in pairs. (verb) arrange in pairs. (adjective) mated sexually.

pared: (verb) decrease gradually or bit by bit. (verb) remove the edges from and cut down to the desired size.

Pronunciation

paired: p·EH·r·d

pared: p·EH·r·d

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Examples in Context

Examples of “paired”

…lobopods did not have the paired spines, showing that these spines…
…as a service management dashboard paired with a browser extension that…
…a societal scale, and if paired with the occupational phase classification…
via solo, paired or group exercises, activities and
It has been paired to engines with up to…
…also made 62 as he paired up well with VVS Laxman.
…usually heavier than white wine) paired better.
…female lead in the film, paired with freshman ballplayer Jake Bradford…
…the Battle Round, he was paired against Cassandra Robertson with the…
Vintage brut champagne paired with sweet, wedding cake can…

Examples of “pared”

This version was pared down to 12 songs from…
The retooled script pared Brainiac down into the film's…

(Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license. Definitions drawn from WordNet.)

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