aisle and isle are homophones: they are pronounced identically and spelled differently, which is why they are so often swapped. aisle means “a long narrow passage (as in a cave or woods)”. isle means “a small island”. aisle is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/ˈaɪl/
1.n.a long narrow passage (as in a cave or woods)
2.n.passageway between seating areas as in an auditorium or passenger vehicle or between areas of shelves of goods as in stores
3.n.part of a church divided laterally from the nave proper by rows of pillars or columns
/ˈaɪl/
| aisle | isle | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈaɪl/ | /ˈaɪl/ |
| Said | ahyl | ahyl |
| Syllables | 1 | 1 |
| Letters | 5 | 4 |
| Parts of speech | noun | noun |
| Senses | 3 | 1 |
| How common | Common | Familiar |
| Synonyms | none recorded | islet |
Full entry for aisle · Full entry for isle · More comparisons
1.n.a small island