Which to use
“clamp” and “crap” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,985
- “clamp” frequency rank
- #3,613
- “crap” frequency rank
- 19598
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clamp | crap |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A brace, band, or clasp for strengthening or holding things that are apart together. | The husk of grain; chaff. |
Where the eye mixes clamp and crap
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between clamp and crap
A purely visual mix-up. clamp (/ˈklæmp/) and crap (/kɹæp/) 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 19598, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clamp is recorded at frequency rank #15,985, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈklæmp/. crap is at rank #3,613, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɹæp/.
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 19598, this pair ranks #437,030 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of clamp vs crap
Shared letters: acp. Private to "clamp": lm. Private to "crap": r.
"clamp" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "crap" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "clamp" and "crap" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "clamp" vs "crap" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "clamp" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "crap" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #437,030 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clamp" and "crap" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cami vs clamp". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #437,030 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.