Which to use
“cranes” and “crone” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,797
- “cranes” frequency rank
- #47,002
- “crone” frequency rank
- 65799
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cranes | crone |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of crane | An old woman. |
Where the eye mixes cranes and crone
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cranes with crone
A purely visual mix-up. cranes (/kɹeɪnz/) and crone (/kɹoʊn/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65799, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cranes is recorded at frequency rank #18,797, classified as anoun, pronounced /kɹeɪnz/. crone is at rank #47,002, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɹoʊn/.
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 65799, this pair ranks #71,026 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of cranes vs crone
Shared letters: cenr. Private to "cranes": as. Private to "crone": o.
"cranes" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "crone" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cranes" for "crone" ever safe?
Which is more common, "cranes" or "crone"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cranes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "crone" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #71,026 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cranes" and "crone" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Croat vs crone". 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 #71,026 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.