Which to use
“crisps” and “cross” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,720
- “crisps” frequency rank
- #1,073
- “cross” frequency rank
- 26793
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | crisps | cross |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of crisp | A geometrical figure consisting of two straight lines or bars intersecting each other such that at least one of them is bisected by the other. |
Where the eye mixes crisps and cross
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between crisps and cross
A purely visual mix-up. crisps (/kɹɪsps/) and cross (/kɹɒs/) 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 26793, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
crisps is recorded at frequency rank #25,720, classified as anoun, pronounced /kɹɪsps/. cross is at rank #1,073, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɹɒs/.
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 26793, this pair ranks #384,032 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of crisps vs cross
Shared letters: crs. Private to "crisps": ip. Private to "cross": o.
"crisps" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC · "cross" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "crisps" and "cross" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "crisps" vs "cross" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "crisps" and "cross" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "crisps" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cross" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #384,032 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "crisps" and "cross" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "crisps 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 #384,032 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.