back crawl

/ˈbækˌkɹɔl/

//ˈbækˌkɹɔl// noun

"back-crawl" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“back crawl” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A style of swimming using the backstroke.

Key facts for back crawl
PropertyValue
Headwordback crawl
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbækˌkɹɔl/
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “back crawl” sits in English frequency

back crawl 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

back crawl is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈbækˌkɹɔl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A style of swimming using the backstroke.".

back crawl doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct English form is back crawl, spelled B-A-C-K- -C-R-A-W-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A style of swimming using the backstroke.

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 "back crawl"?
"back crawl" is spelled B-A-C-K- -C-R-A-W-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbækˌkɹɔl/.
What does "back crawl" mean?
As a noun, "back crawl" means: A style of swimming using the backstroke.
How do you pronounce "back crawl"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "back crawl" is /ˈbækˌkɹɔl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "back crawl" come from?
"back crawl" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 “back crawl”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is B-A-C-K- -C-R-A-W-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈbækˌkɹɔl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • 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