cast and caste are homophones: they are pronounced identically and spelled differently, which is why they are so often swapped. cast means “put or send forth”. caste means “social status or position conferred by a system based on class”. cast is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/ˈkæst/
1.v.put or send forth
“She threw the flashlight beam into the corner”
2.v.deposit
“cast a vote”
3.v.select to play,sing, or dance a part in a play, movie, musical, opera, or ballet
“He cast a young woman in the role of Desdemona”
/ˈkæst/
1.n.social status or position conferred by a system based on class
“lose caste by doing work beneath one's station”
2.n.(Hinduism) a hereditary social class among Hindus; stratified according to ritual purity
3.n.a social class separated from others by distinctions of hereditary rank or profession or wealth
| cast | caste | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈkæst/ | /ˈkæst/ |
| Said | kast | kast |
| Syllables | 1 | 1 |
| Letters | 4 | 5 |
| Parts of speech | verb, noun | noun |
| Senses | 20 | 4 |
| How common | Common | Familiar |
| Synonyms | project, contrive, throw | none recorded |
Full entry for cast · Full entry for caste · More comparisons