Which to use
“crops” and “crow” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,554
- “crops” frequency rank
- #9,590
- “crow” frequency rank
- 16144
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | crops | crow |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of crop | A bird, usually black, of the genus Corvus, having a strong conical beak, with projecting bristles; it has a harsh, croaking call. |
Where the eye mixes crops and crow
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses crops with crow
A purely visual mix-up. crops (/kɹɒps/) and crow (/kɹəʊ/) 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 16144, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
crops is recorded at frequency rank #6,554, classified as anoun, pronounced /kɹɒps/. crow is at rank #9,590, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɹəʊ/.
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 16144, this pair ranks #459,619 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of crops vs crow
Shared letters: cor. Private to "crops": ps. Private to "crow": w.
"crops" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "crow" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "crops" for "crow" ever safe?
Which is more common, "crops" or "crow"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "crops" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "crow" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #459,619 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "crops" and "crow" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Croat vs crow". 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 #459,619 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.