crabs

/kɹæbz/

//kɹæbz// noun

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

The verdict

“crabs” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #17,113. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#17,113
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - plural of crab

Corpus desk

Index EN-crabs · crabs · English

crabs · rank #17,113 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #17,113
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH conveyed

Nearest frequency peer: conveyed (-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 “crabs”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “crabs” 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).

crabs vs CRS
0% similar
crabs vs crap
60% similar
crabs vs Cubs
40% similar

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

Key facts for crabs
PropertyValue
Headwordcrabs
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kɹæbz/
Letters5
Frequency rank#17,113
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “crabs”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).crabslands 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 “conveyed” (#17,112), “cuddle” (#17,114), “culprit” (#17,115). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “crabs” is #17,113. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around crabs (IPA /kɹæbz/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #17,113 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Dominant gloss: "plural of crab".

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for crabs, with forms such as "ccrabs", "crabbs", and "crabss". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "CRS", "crap", "Cubs", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct English form is crabs, spelled C-R-A-B-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    plural of crab

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccrabs
  • crabbs
  • crabss
  • crasb
  • crbas
  • crrabs
  • rcabs

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccrabs1crabbs1crabss1crasb2crbas2crrabs1rcabs2
Edit distance from "crabs"

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 "crabs"?
"crabs" is spelled C-R-A-B-S. The IPA pronunciation is /kɹæbz/.
What does "crabs" mean?
As a noun, "crabs" means: plural of crab
What words are commonly confused with "crabs"?
"crabs" is commonly confused with "CRS", "crap", "Cubs". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "crabs"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "crabs" is /kɹæbz/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "crabs" come from?
"crabs" 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 "crabs", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Similar misspelling depth

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list