cigsvscribsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“cigs” and “cribs” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#34,829
“cigs” frequency rank
#41,067
“cribs” frequency rank
75896
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cigs cribs
Definition plural of cig plural of crib

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cigs and cribs apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
cigs
5 ch
cribs

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. cigs (/sɪɡz/) and cribs (/kɹɪbz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 75896, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cigs is recorded at frequency rank #34,829, classified as anoun, pronounced /sɪɡz/. cribs is at rank #41,067, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɹɪbz/.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 75896, this pair ranks #31,725 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of cigs vs cribs

Shared letters: cis. Private to "cigs": g. Private to "cribs": br.

"cigs" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "cribs" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cigsccigs · cgis · ciggs · cigss · cisg · icgs
  • cribsccribs · cirbs · crbis · cribbs · cribss · crisb · crribs · rcibs

Frequency comparison

cigs#34,829
cribs#41,067

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cigs" and "cribs" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/sɪɡz/ versus /kɹɪbz/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cigs" or "cribs"?
"cigs" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,829 in our English list, against #41,067 for "cribs". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cigs vs cribs

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cigs” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list