Which to use
“crag” and “crud” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,715
- “crag” frequency rank
- #45,306
- “crud” frequency rank
- 90021
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | crag | crud |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A rocky outcrop; a rugged steep cliff or rock. | Dirt, filth or refuse. |
Where the eye mixes crag and crud
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. crag and crud follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses crag with crud
A purely visual mix-up. crag (/kɹæɡ/) and crud (/kɹʌd/) 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 90021, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
crag is recorded at frequency rank #44,715, classified as anoun, pronounced /kɹæɡ/. crud is at rank #45,306, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɹʌd/.
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 90021, this pair ranks #4,571 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of crag vs crud
Shared letters: cr. Private to "crag": ag. Private to "crud": du.
"crag" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "crud" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "crag" for "crud" ever safe?
Which is more common, "crag" or "crud"?
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 "crag" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "crud" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #4,571 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "crag" and "crud" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "crag vs Croat". 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 #4,571 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.