rooted, routed

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

The answer is simple: rooted, routed are homophones of the English language.

rooted
  1. :: adjective

    Fixed in one position; immobile; unable to move.

  2. :: adjective

    Ingrained, as through repeated use; entrenched; habitual or instinctive.

  3. :: adjective

    Having a basic or fundamental connection (to a thing); based, originating (from).

  4. :: adjective

    Having a root.

routed
  1. :: verb

    Simple past tense and past participle of route.

  2. :: adjective

    assigned a route

  3. :: verb

    Simple past tense and past participle of rout.

  4. :: adjective

    decisively beaten or defeated

Definitions from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License 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").