Which to use
“cracks” and “cruces” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,267
- “cracks” frequency rank
- #46,405
- “cruces” frequency rank
- 54672
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cracks | cruces |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of crack | plural of crux |
Where the eye mixes cracks and cruces
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. cracks (CCVCCC) and cruces (CCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses cracks with cruces
A purely visual mix-up. cracks (/kɹæks/) and cruces (/ˈkɹu.siz/) 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 54672, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cracks is recorded at frequency rank #8,267, classified as anoun, pronounced /kɹæks/. cruces is at rank #46,405, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɹu.siz/.
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 54672, this pair ranks #139,268 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cracks vs cruces
Shared letters: crs. Private to "cracks": ak. Private to "cruces": eu.
"cracks" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC · "cruces" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cracks" and "cruces" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "cracks" vs "cruces" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "cracks" and "cruces" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "cracks" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cruces" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #139,268 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cracks" and "cruces" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cruces 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 #139,268 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.