English homophones
caw/core/corps
"core" (#1,892 written frequency) beats "corps" (#4,517) in this 3-word /kɔː/ cluster. Size rank #30 of 1,007 English groups.
Data vintage
Frequency splits the cluster
These 3 spellings keep the same /kɔː/ reading, but written frequency splits them hard: "core" leads at #1,892, with "corps" trailing at #4,517.
Spelling pairs in this cluster
- No shared spelling stem: "caw" is 3 letters, "core" is 4; only the sound ties them.
- No shared spelling stem: "caw" is 3 letters, "corps" is 5; only the sound ties them.
- Shared stem "cor" then splits - "core" (4 letters) vs "corps" (5).
Orthographic DNA of this cluster
Shared letters across caw, core, corps: c. Private letters are the ones only one spelling owns: the eye's fastest tell once sound is out of the picture.
caw
3 letters · 1 vowels · shape CVC
Inventory acw · private aw
core
4 letters · 2 vowels · shape CVCV
Inventory ceor · private eor
corps
5 letters · 1 vowels · shape CVCCC
Inventory coprs · private oprs
Pick the spelling from the meaning
- Write "caw" when you mean: The harsh cry of a crow.
- Write "core" when you mean: In general usage, an essential part of a thing surrounded by other essential things.
- Write "corps" when you mean: A battlefield formation composed of two or more divisions.
Known mistypes of these spellings
Edit-distance variants recorded against this cluster: useful when a search or OCR feed lands on the wrong form.
Each spelling
Nearby English homophone groups
What to do next
You've reviewed the 3-spelling cluster (caw, core, corps). Here's where to go from here.
- "core" is the most frequent headword in this 3-spelling cluster (rank #1,892 in English). Full entry
- Among English homophone groups, a cluster of 3 spellings ranks #30 by size (1,007 groups in this vintage). Corpus statistics
- Explore a nearby 3-spelling cluster: sent · cent · scent. Nearby cluster
- Each spelling in "caw, core, corps" has its own headword page with definition, IPA, and misspelling variants. First entry
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.