stridor, strider

The words stridor, strider sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. Why do stridor, strider sound the same even though they are completely different words?

The answer is simple: stridor, strider are homophones of the English language.

strider
  1. :: noun

    One who strides.

  2. :: noun

    An insect called the water strider.

stridor
  1. :: noun

    A harsh, shrill, grating, or creaking sound.

  2. :: noun

    Pathology A harsh, high-pitched sound in inhalation or exhalation.

Definitions from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License, from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition and Wordnik.

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About Homophones

Homophones (literally "same sound") are usually defined as words that share the same pronunciation, regardless of how they are spelled.

If they are spelled the same then they are also homographs (and homonyms); if they are spelled differently then they are also heterographs (literally "different writing").