craze

/kɹeɪz/

//kɹeɪz// noun

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

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

The verdict

“craze” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,283. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,283
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A strong habitual desire or fancy.

Corpus desk

Index EN-craze · craze · English

craze · rank #18,283 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,283
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH crackdown

Nearest frequency peer: crackdown (-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 “craze”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “craze” 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).

craze vs Cruz
40% similar
craze vs Cree
40% similar
craze vs crazy
80% similar

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

Key facts for craze
PropertyValue
Headwordcraze
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kɹeɪz/
Letters5
Frequency rank#18,283
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “craze”

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).crazelands 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 “crackdown” (#18,282), “cords” (#18,281), “cupcake” (#18,285). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “craze” is #18,283. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around craze (IPA /kɹeɪz/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #18,283 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 craze, with forms such as "carze", "ccraze", and "craez". 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, "Cruz", "Cree", "crazy", 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 crasen (“to crush, break, break to pieces, shatter, craze”), from Old Norse *krasa (“to shatter”), ultimately imitative. Cognate with Scots krass (“to crush, squeeze, wrinkle”), Icelandic krasa (“to crackle”), Norwegian krasa (“to shatte… The correct English form is craze, spelled C-R-A-Z-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A strong habitual desire or fancy.
  2. 2
    A temporary passion or infatuation, as for some new amusement, pursuit, or fashion; a fad.
  3. 3
    A crack in the glaze or enamel caused by exposure of the pottery to great or irregular heat.
  4. 4
    Craziness; insanity.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Winemaking was a huge craze in the 1970s, when affordable package holidays to the continent gave people a taste for winedrinking, but the recession made it hard to afford off-license prices back home.
  2. ‘A poor fellow with a craze, sir,’ said Mr. Dick, ‘a simpleton, a weak-minded person […] may do what wonderful people may not do. […]’

Etymology

From Middle English crasen (“to crush, break, break to pieces, shatter, craze”), from Old Norse *krasa (“to shatter”), ultimately imitative. Cognate with Scots krass (“to crush, squeeze, wrinkle”), Icelandic krasa (“to crackle”), Norwegian krasa (“to shatter, crush”), Swedish krasa (“to crack, crackle”), Danish krase (“to crack, crackle”), Faroese kras (“small pieces”).

This word in other languages

manía(Español)engouement(Français)Fimmel(Deutsch)febre(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • carze
  • ccraze
  • craez
  • crazze
  • crraze
  • crzae
  • rcaze

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of craze - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

carze2ccraze1craez2crazze1crraze1crzae2rcaze2
Edit distance from "craze"

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 "craze"?
"craze" is spelled C-R-A-Z-E. The IPA pronunciation is /kɹeɪz/.
What does "craze" mean?
As a noun, "craze" means: A strong habitual desire or fancy.
What words are commonly confused with "craze"?
"craze" is commonly confused with "Cruz", "Cree", "crazy". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "craze"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "craze" is /kɹeɪz/. 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 "craze"?
From Middle English crasen (“to crush, break, break to pieces, shatter, craze”), from Old Norse *krasa (“to shatter”), ultimately imitative. Cognate with Scots krass (“to crush, squeeze, wrinkle”), Icelandic krasa (“to crackle”), Norwegian krasa (... 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 "craze", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

cords#18,281dumps#18,295evils#18,304cadet#18,261

Similar misspelling depth

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

faked7 variantsBraun7 variantsbonnet7 variantsgiggle7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list