Which to use
“clink” and “crick” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #45,847
- “clink” frequency rank
- #36,944
- “crick” frequency rank
- 82791
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clink | crick |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The sound of metal on metal, or glass on glass. | A painful muscular cramp or spasm of some part of the body, as of the neck or back, making it difficult to move the part affected. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set clink and crick apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. clink (/klɪŋk/) and crick (/kɹɪk/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 82791, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clink is recorded at frequency rank #45,847, classified as anoun, pronounced /klɪŋk/. crick is at rank #36,944, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɹɪk/.
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 82791, this pair ranks #15,054 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of clink vs crick
Shared letters: cik. Private to "clink": ln. Private to "crick": r.
"clink" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "crick" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "clink" and "crick" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "clink" or "crick"?
Remembering clink vs crick
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 “clink” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable