Which to use
“cross” and “crowns” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,073
- “cross” frequency rank
- #15,792
- “crowns” frequency rank
- 16865
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cross | crowns |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 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. | plural of crown |
Where the eye mixes cross and crowns
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between cross and crowns
A purely visual mix-up. cross (/kɹɒs/) and crowns (/kɹaʊnz/) 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 16865, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cross is recorded at frequency rank #1,073, classified as anoun, pronounced /kɹɒs/. crowns is at rank #15,792, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɹaʊnz/.
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 16865, this pair ranks #455,103 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cross vs crowns
Shared letters: cors. Private to "cross": -. Private to "crowns": nw.
"cross" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "crowns" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "cross" and "crowns" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "cross" vs "crowns" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cross" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "crowns" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #455,103 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cross" and "crowns" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "crone vs crowns". 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 #455,103 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.