Which to use
“courts” and “crusts” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,224
- “courts” frequency rank
- #45,868
- “crusts” frequency rank
- 49092
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | courts | crusts |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of court | plural of crust |
Where the eye mixes courts and crusts
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses courts with crusts
A purely visual mix-up. courts (/kɔɹts/) and crusts (/kɹʌsts/) 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 49092, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
courts is recorded at frequency rank #3,224, classified as anoun, pronounced /kɔɹts/. crusts is at rank #45,868, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɹʌsts/.
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 49092, this pair ranks #186,922 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of courts vs crusts
Shared letters: crstu. Private to "courts": o. Private to "crusts": -.
"courts" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCC · "crusts" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "courts" for "crusts" ever safe?
Frequency check: "courts" vs "crusts" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "courts" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "crusts" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #186,922 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "courts" and "crusts" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "crusted vs crusts". 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 #186,922 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.