cower

/ˈkaʊɚ/

//ˈkaʊɚ// verb

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

"cower" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cower” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #49,846. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#49,846
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To crouch or cringe, or to avoid or shy away from something, in fear.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cower · cower · English

cower · rank #49,846 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #49,846
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH courant

Nearest frequency peer: courant (-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 “cower”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “cower” 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).

cower vs cows
60% similar
cower vs cowl
60% similar
cower vs Cowley
50% similar

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

Key facts for cower
PropertyValue
Headwordcower
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈkaʊɚ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#49,846
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “cower”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).cowerlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “courant” (#49,845), “crackpot” (#49,847), “crewed” (#49,848). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cower” is #49,846. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around cower (IPA /ˈkaʊɚ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #49,846 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for cower, with forms such as "ccower", "coewr", and "cowerr". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "cows", "cowl", "Cowley", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English couren, cowre, from Middle Low German kûren (“to lie in wait; linger”) or from North Germanic (Icelandic kúra (“to doze”)); according to Pokorny, all are ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gew- (“to curve, bend”), see also Proto-German… The correct English form is cower, spelled C-O-W-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    To crouch or cringe, or to avoid or shy away from something, in fear.
  2. 2
    To crouch in general.
  3. 3
    To cause to cower; to frighten into submission.
  4. 4
    To be a coward; to hide away or refuse to face opposition due to fear.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He'd be useless in war. He'd just cower in his bunker until the enemy came in and shot him, or until the war was over.
  2. Our dame sits cowering o'er a kitchen fire.

Etymology

From Middle English couren, cowre, from Middle Low German kûren (“to lie in wait; linger”) or from North Germanic (Icelandic kúra (“to doze”)); according to Pokorny, all are ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gew- (“to curve, bend”), see also Proto-Germanic *kuddô (“shell, pod”). Cognate with German kauern (“to squat”), Dutch koeren (“to keep watch (in a cowered position)”), Serbo-Croatian kutriti (“to lie in a bent position”), Swedish kura (“huddle, cower”). Unrelated to coward, which is of Latin origin.

This word in other languages

encogerse(Español)se recroqueviller(Français)kauern(Deutsch)encolher(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccower
  • coewr
  • cowerr
  • cowre
  • cowwer
  • cwoer
  • ocwer

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cower - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ccower1coewr2cowerr1cowre2cowwer1cwoer2ocwer2
Edit distance from "cower"

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 "cower"?
"cower" is spelled C-O-W-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkaʊɚ/.
What does "cower" mean?
As a verb, "cower" means: To crouch or cringe, or to avoid or shy away from something, in fear.
What words are commonly confused with "cower"?
"cower" is commonly confused with "cows", "cowl", "Cowley". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cower"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cower" is /ˈkaʊɚ/. 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 "cower"?
From Middle English couren, cowre, from Middle Low German kûren (“to lie in wait; linger”) or from North Germanic (Icelandic kúra (“to doze”)); according to Pokorny, all are ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gew- (“to curve, bend”), see also Pr... 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Crist#49,849Croat#49,850cubby#49,853Dalia#49,860

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

dikes7 variantsbogan7 variantsflail7 variantsGogol7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list