by hook or by crook
/baɪ ˈhʊk‿ə baɪ ˈkɹʊk/
"by-hook-or-by-crook" is a 15-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“by hook or by crook” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a prep_phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 19
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - By any means possible; one way or another.
Corpus desk
Index EN-by-hook-or-by-crook · by hook or by crook · English
by hook or by crook · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 19 letters
- VOW-7 7 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "B" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | by hook or by crook |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Prep_phrase |
| IPA | /baɪ ˈhʊk‿ə baɪ ˈkɹʊk/ |
| Letters | 19 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “by hook or by crook” in English
Rare enough to double-check
by hook or by crook is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aprep_phrase, transcribed /baɪ ˈhʊk‿ə baɪ ˈkɹʊk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "By any means possible; one way or another.".
Zero misspellings are on record for by hook or by crook in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From earlier by howke or crooke, by hoke ne by croke, etc., from Middle English wiþ hok or crok, wiþ hook or wiþ crok; further origin unknown. One suggestion is that the term is derived from the common of estovers, an ancient right in English law for tenant… The correct English form is by hook or by crook, spelled B-Y- -H-O-O-K- -O-R- -B-Y- -C-R-O-O-K.
Definition
- 1By any means possible; one way or another.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how by hook or by crook appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
She was determined to win the contract by hook or by crook.
Nor wyll suffre this boke / By hoke ne by croke / Prynted for to be, […]
Etymology
From earlier by howke or crooke, by hoke ne by croke, etc., from Middle English wiþ hok or crok, wiþ hook or wiþ crok; further origin unknown. One suggestion is that the term is derived from the common of estovers, an ancient right in English law for tenants of land to gather dead wood on common land using blunt tools such as hooks and shepherd’s crooks.
This word in other languages
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.