Which to use
“clutch” is a verb and “crutch” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,523
- “clutch” frequency rank
- #32,752
- “crutch” frequency rank
- 41275
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clutch | crutch |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To seize, as though with claws. | A device to assist in motion as a cane, especially one that provides support under the arm to reduce weight on a leg. |
Where the eye mixes clutch and crutch
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. clutch and crutch follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses clutch with crutch
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: clutch is /klʌt͡ʃ/ while crutch is /kɹʌt͡ʃ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - l in “clutch” becomes r in “crutch”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41275, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clutch is recorded at frequency rank #8,523, classified as averb, pronounced /klʌt͡ʃ/. crutch is at rank #32,752, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɹʌt͡ʃ/.
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 41275, this pair ranks #259,963 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of clutch vs crutch
Shared letters: chtu. Private to "clutch": l. Private to "crutch": r.
"clutch" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC · "crutch" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "clutch" and "crutch" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "clutch" or "crutch"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "clutch" and "crutch" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "clutch" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "crutch" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #259,963 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clutch" and "crutch" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "crunchy vs crutch". 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 #259,963 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.