carrion crow

/ˈkʰɛːɹi.ən kʰɹoʊː/

//ˈkʰɛːɹi.ən kʰɹoʊː// noun

"carrion-crow" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency English
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The common European black crow Corvus corone.

Key facts for carrion crow
PropertyValue
Headwordcarrion crow
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkʰɛːɹi.ən kʰɹoʊː/
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “carrion crow” sits in English frequency

carrion crow 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

carrion crow is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkʰɛːɹi.ən kʰɹoʊː/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for carrion crow in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From its habit of feeding on carrion. The correct English form is carrion crow, spelled C-A-R-R-I-O-N- -C-R-O-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    The common European black crow Corvus corone.
  2. 2
    The American black vulture Coragyps atratus.

Etymology

From its habit of feeding on carrion.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "carrion crow"?
"carrion crow" is spelled C-A-R-R-I-O-N- -C-R-O-W. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkʰɛːɹi.ən kʰɹoʊː/.
What does "carrion crow" mean?
As a noun, "carrion crow" means: The common European black crow Corvus corone.
How do you pronounce "carrion crow"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "carrion crow" is /ˈkʰɛːɹi.ən kʰɹoʊː/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "carrion crow"?
From its habit of feeding on carrion. 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 “carrion crow”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is C-A-R-R-I-O-N- -C-R-O-W - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈkʰɛːɹi.ən kʰɹoʊː/ (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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list