crave

/kɹeɪv/

//kɹeɪv// verb

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

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

The verdict

“crave” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #15,595. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#15,595
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To desire strongly, so as to satisfy an appetite; to long or yearn for.

Corpus desk

Index EN-crave · crave · English

crave · rank #15,595 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #15,595
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH crate

Nearest frequency peer: crate (-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 “crave”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “crave” 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).

crave vs Cree
40% similar
crave vs cray
60% similar
crave vs crazy
60% similar

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

Key facts for crave
PropertyValue
Headwordcrave
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/kɹeɪv/
Letters5
Frequency rank#15,595
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “crave”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).cravelands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “crate” (#15,594), “crows” (#15,596), “coupling” (#15,593). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “crave” is #15,595. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around crave (IPA /kɹeɪv/), averb. Corpus frequency is #15,595 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for crave, with forms such as "ccrave", "craev", and "cravve". 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, "Cree", "cray", "crazy", 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 craven, from Old English crafian (“to crave, ask, implore, demand, summon”), from Proto-West Germanic *krafōn, from Proto-Germanic *krafjaną (“to demand”). Cognate with Danish kræve (“to demand, require”), Swedish kräva (“to crave, deman… The correct English form is crave, spelled C-R-A-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To desire strongly, so as to satisfy an appetite; to long or yearn for.
  2. 2
    To ask for earnestly; to beg or demand, as from a figure of authority.
  3. 3
    To call for; to require as a course of action.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. to crave for peace
  2. to crave after wealth

Etymology

From Middle English craven, from Old English crafian (“to crave, ask, implore, demand, summon”), from Proto-West Germanic *krafōn, from Proto-Germanic *krafjaną (“to demand”). Cognate with Danish kræve (“to demand, require”), Swedish kräva (“to crave, demand”), Icelandic krefja (“to demand”), Norwegian kreve (“to demand”).

This word in other languages

anhelar(Español)souhaiter(Français)begehren(Deutsch)ansiar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccrave
  • craev
  • cravve
  • crrave
  • crvae
  • rcave

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of crave - 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.

ccrave1craev2cravve1crrave1crvae2rcave2
Edit distance from "crave"

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 "crave"?
"crave" is spelled C-R-A-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is /kɹeɪv/.
What does "crave" mean?
As a verb, "crave" means: To desire strongly, so as to satisfy an appetite; to long or yearn for.
What words are commonly confused with "crave"?
"crave" is commonly confused with "Cree", "cray", "crazy". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "crave"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "crave" is /kɹeɪv/. 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 "crave"?
From Middle English craven, from Old English crafian (“to crave, ask, implore, demand, summon”), from Proto-West Germanic *krafōn, from Proto-Germanic *krafjaną (“to demand”). Cognate with Danish kræve (“to demand, require”), Swedish kräva (“to cr... 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 "crave", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

crate#15,594crows#15,596Fanny#15,611Freud#15,616

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

Connie6 variantschar6 variantsgloss6 variantsguise6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list