Which to use
“cranked” and “crooked” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,594
- “cranked” frequency rank
- #12,397
- “crooked” frequency rank
- 45991
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cranked | crooked |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of crank | simple past and past participle of crook |
Where the eye mixes cranked and crooked
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. cranked (CCVCCVC) and crooked (CCVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: cranked vs crooked
A purely visual mix-up. cranked (/kɹæŋkt/) and crooked (/kɹʊkt/) 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 45991, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cranked is recorded at frequency rank #33,594, classified as averb, pronounced /kɹæŋkt/. crooked is at rank #12,397, tagged as averb, pronounced /kɹʊkt/.
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 45991, this pair ranks #216,032 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cranked vs crooked
Shared letters: cdekr. Private to "cranked": an. Private to "crooked": o.
"cranked" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "crooked" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cranked" for "crooked" ever safe?
Which is more common, "cranked" or "crooked"?
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 "cranked" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "crooked" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #216,032 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cranked" and "crooked" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cranked vs cringed". 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 #216,032 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.