Which to use
“cries” is a verb and “crimp” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,901
- “cries” frequency rank
- #46,404
- “crimp” frequency rank
- 54305
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cries | crimp |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | third-person singular simple present indicative of cry | Easily crumbled; friable; brittle. |
Where the eye mixes cries and crimp
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. cries (CCVVC) and crimp (CCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between cries and crimp
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cries is /kɹaɪ̯z/ while crimp is /kɹɪmp/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54305, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cries is recorded at frequency rank #7,901, classified as averb, pronounced /kɹaɪ̯z/. crimp is at rank #46,404, tagged as anadj, pronounced /kɹɪmp/.
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 54305, this pair ranks #142,113 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cries vs crimp
Shared letters: cir. Private to "cries": es. Private to "crimp": mp.
"cries" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC · "crimp" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "cries" and "crimp" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "cries" or "crimp"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cries" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "crimp" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #142,113 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cries" and "crimp" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "crimp vs Crist". 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 #142,113 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.