clawing

noun

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

"clawing" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“clawing” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #41,560. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#41,560
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A scratch with the claws.

Corpus desk

Index EN-clawing · clawing · English

clawing · rank #41,560 · 11 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #41,560
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH citric

Nearest frequency peer: citric (-1 rank slots)

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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “clawing”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “clawing” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

clawing vs cling
71% similar
clawing vs closing
71% similar
clawing vs coating
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for clawing
PropertyValue
Headwordclawing
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters7
Frequency rank#41,560
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “clawing”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).clawinglands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “citric” (#41,559), “cobblestone” (#41,562), “chuffed” (#41,557). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “clawing” is #41,560. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around clawing, anoun. Corpus frequency is #41,560 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A scratch with the claws.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for clawing, with forms such as "calwing", "cclawing", and "claiwng". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "cling", "closing", "coating", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct English form is clawing, spelled C-L-A-W-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    A scratch with the claws.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how clawing appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. […] they are nevertheless always like the lion's keeper, who, when by long patience, a thousand feedings, and a thousand clawings, he hath made a fierce lion familiar, yet never gives him meat, but with pulling back his hand, always in fear […]

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • calwing
  • cclawing
  • claiwng
  • clawign
  • clawingg
  • clawinng
  • clawnig
  • clawwing
  • cllawing
  • clwaing
  • lcawing

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of clawing - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

calwing2cclawing1claiwng2clawign2clawingg1clawinng1clawnig2clawwing1
Edit distance from "clawing"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "clawing"?
"clawing" is spelled C-L-A-W-I-N-G.
What does "clawing" mean?
As a noun, "clawing" means: A scratch with the claws.
What words are commonly confused with "clawing"?
"clawing" is commonly confused with "cling", "closing", "coating". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What language does "clawing" come from?
"clawing" 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "clawing", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

chuffed#41,557chipset#41,550croquet#41,575cadaver#41,541

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

choppers11 variantsCristian11 variantsbridger11 variantsbinomial11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list