as the crow flies

adv

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"as-the-crow-flies" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“as the crow flies” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
17
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - In a straight line distance between two locations, as opposed to the road distance or over land distance.

Key facts for as the crow flies
PropertyValue
Headwordas the crow flies
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
Letters17
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “as the crow flies” sits in English frequency

as the crow flies falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

as the crow flies is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "In a straight line distance between two locations, as opposed to the road distance or over land distance.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for as the crow flies, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From the fact that while crows fly to their source of food, their flight bypasses obstacles like rivers and terrain. Compare beeline. The correct English form is as the crow flies, spelled A-S- -T-H-E- -C-R-O-W- -F-L-I-E-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    In a straight line distance between two locations, as opposed to the road distance or over land distance.

Etymology

From the fact that while crows fly to their source of food, their flight bypasses obstacles like rivers and terrain. Compare beeline.

This word in other languages

a campo traviesa(Español)à vol d'oiseau(Français)Luftlinie(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "as the crow flies"?
"as the crow flies" is spelled A-S- -T-H-E- -C-R-O-W- -F-L-I-E-S.
What does "as the crow flies" mean?
As an adverb, "as the crow flies" means: In a straight line distance between two locations, as opposed to the road distance or over land distance.
What is the origin of the word "as the crow flies"?
From the fact that while crows fly to their source of food, their flight bypasses obstacles like rivers and terrain. Compare beeline. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “as the crow flies”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is A-S- -T-H-E- -C-R-O-W- -F-L-I-E-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list