crab

/kɹæb/

//kɹæb// noun

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

"crab" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“crab” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #10,185) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#10,185
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any crustacean of the infraorder Brachyura, having five pairs of legs, the foremost of which are in the form of claws, and a carapace.

Corpus desk

Index EN-crab · crab · English

crab · rank #10,185 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #10,185
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH corpse

Nearest frequency peer: corpse (-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.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “crab”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “crab” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

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).

crab vs cry
50% similar
crab vs Cub
25% similar
crab vs CSA
0% similar

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

Key facts for crab
PropertyValue
Headwordcrab
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kɹæb/
Letters4
Frequency rank#10,185
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “crab”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).crablands 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 “corpse” (#10,184), “cruelty” (#10,186), “cons” (#10,183). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “crab” is #10,185. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for crab is neighbouring look-alikes ("cry", "Cub", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /kɹæb/. Frequency #10,185 among 5,599 “C” headwords. 13 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for crab, with forms such as "ccrab", "crba", and "crrab". 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, "cry", "Cub", "CSA", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English crabbe, from Old English crabba (“crab; crayfish; cancer”), from Proto-West Germanic *krabbō, from Proto-Germanic *krabbô, from *krabbōną (“to creep, crawl”), from Proto-Indo-European *grobʰeh₂yéti (“scratch, claw at”), a metathesised o-… The correct English form is crab, spelled C-R-A-B.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any crustacean of the infraorder Brachyura, having five pairs of legs, the foremost of which are in the form of claws, and a carapace.
  2. 2
    The meat of this crustacean, served as food; crabmeat.
  3. 3
    Various other animals that resemble true crabs:
  4. 4
    Various other animals that resemble true crabs:
  5. 5
    A bad-tempered person.
  6. 6
    An infestation of pubic lice (Pthirus pubis).
  7. 7
    Ellipsis of crab angle.
  8. 8
    A playing card with the rank of three.
  9. 9
    A position in rowing where the oar is pushed under the rigger by the force of the water.
  10. 10
    A defect in an outwardly normal object that may render it inconvenient and troublesome to use.
  11. 11
    An unsold book that is returned to the publisher.
  12. 12
    On an insignia, a coat of arms symbol representing a senior rank.
  13. 13
    A member of the Crips.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. But Richmond[…]appeared to lose himself in his own reflections. Some pickled crab, which he had not touched, had been removed with a damson pie; and his sister saw[…]that he had eaten no more than a spoonful of that either.
  2. Despite its name, the hermit crab is not a true crab!

Etymology

From Middle English crabbe, from Old English crabba (“crab; crayfish; cancer”), from Proto-West Germanic *krabbō, from Proto-Germanic *krabbô, from *krabbōną (“to creep, crawl”), from Proto-Indo-European *grobʰeh₂yéti (“scratch, claw at”), a metathesised o-grade of *gerbʰ- (“to carve, scratch”). More at carve. Cognates See also Dutch krab, Low German Krabb, Danish krabbe, Swedish krabba. Further cognates with frequentative-infix are Saterland Frisian krabbelje (“to creep, crawl”), Dutch krabbelen (“to scratch”) and German krabbeln (“to crawl”). Possibly related to English creep and Swedish krypa (“to creep, crawl”) etc. Other origins have also been suggested, see Ancient Greek κάραβος (kárabos) (regarding the possibility of a substrate origin) and Persian خرچنگ (regarding possible ideophonic origin); compare also Old Armenian քարբ (kʻarb), German Krebs.

This word in other languages

cangrejo(Español)crabe(Français)Krabbe(Deutsch)caranguejo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccrab
  • crba
  • crrab
  • rcab

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccrab1crba2crrab1rcab2
Edit distance from "crab"

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 "crab"?
"crab" is spelled C-R-A-B. The IPA pronunciation is /kɹæb/.
What does "crab" mean?
As a noun, "crab" means: Any crustacean of the infraorder Brachyura, having five pairs of legs, the foremost of which are in the form of claws, and a carapace.
What words are commonly confused with "crab"?
"crab" is commonly confused with "cry", "Cub", "CSA". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "crab"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "crab" is /kɹæb/. 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 "crab"?
From Middle English crabbe, from Old English crabba (“crab; crayfish; cancer”), from Proto-West Germanic *krabbō, from Proto-Germanic *krabbô, from *krabbōną (“to creep, crawl”), from Proto-Indo-European *grobʰeh₂yéti (“scratch, claw at”), a metat... 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 "crab", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

cons#10,183dice#10,194cane#10,175dots#10,200

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list