cream

/kɹiːm/

//kɹiːm// noun

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

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

The verdict

“cream” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,383. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,383
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The butterfat or milkfat part of milk which rises to the top; this part when separated from the remainder.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cream · cream · English

cream · rank #2,383 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,383
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH charged

Nearest frequency peer: charged (-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 “cream”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “cream” 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).

cream vs CRM
0% similar
cream vs crew
60% similar
cream vs Cree
40% similar

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

Key facts for cream
PropertyValue
Headwordcream
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kɹiːm/
Letters5
Frequency rank#2,383
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “cream”

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).creamlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “charged” (#2,382), “crisis” (#2,384), “champion” (#2,381). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cream” is #2,383. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around cream (IPA /kɹiːm/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #2,383 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 11 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for cream, with forms such as "ccream", "ceram", and "craem". 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, "CRM", "crew", "Cree", 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 creime, creme, from Old French creme, cresme, blend of Late Latin chrisma (“ointment”) (from Ancient Greek χρῖσμα (khrîsma, “unguent”)), and Late Latin crāmum (“cream”), from Gaulish *crama (compare Welsh cramen (“scab, skin”), Breton cr… The correct English form is cream, spelled C-R-E-A-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    The butterfat or milkfat part of milk which rises to the top; this part when separated from the remainder.
  2. 2
    The butterfat or milkfat part of milk which rises to the top; this part when separated from the remainder.
  3. 3
    The butterfat or milkfat part of milk which rises to the top; this part when separated from the remainder.
  4. 4
    The butterfat or milkfat part of milk which rises to the top; this part when separated from the remainder.
  5. 5
    A yellowish white color; the color of cream.
  6. 6
    Frosting, custard, creamer, or another substance similar to the oily part of milk or to whipped cream.
  7. 7
    A dish prepared through creaming, particularly cream of
  8. 8
    The best part of something.
  9. 9
    A viscous aqueous oil or fat emulsion with a medicament added, used to apply that medicament to the skin. (compare with ointment)
  10. 10
    Semen.
  11. 11
    The chrism or consecrated oil used in anointing ceremonies.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Take 100 ml of cream and 50 grams of sugar…
  2. You may have noticed that any time that filling is mentioned on Oreo packaging, it's called "creme." This is no typo. Technically, the creamy filling inside an Oreo is not cream at all: The recipe used actually contains no dairy; as such, the FDA prohibits Nabisco from labeling the product as "cream."

Etymology

From Middle English creime, creme, from Old French creme, cresme, blend of Late Latin chrisma (“ointment”) (from Ancient Greek χρῖσμα (khrîsma, “unguent”)), and Late Latin crāmum (“cream”), from Gaulish *crama (compare Welsh cramen (“scab, skin”), Breton crammen), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)krama- (compare Middle Irish screm (“surface, skin”), Dutch schram (“abrasion”), Lithuanian kramas (“scurf”)). Doublet of crema and crème. Displaced native Old English rēam (“cream”) (> modern ream). Figurative sense of "most excellent element or part" appears from 1581. Verb meaning "to beat, thrash, wreck" is 1929, U.S. colloquial. The U.S. standard of identity is from 21 CFR 131.3(a).

Synonyms

crèmecremeream

This word in other languages

nata(Español)crème(Français)Sahne(Deutsch)creme(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccream
  • ceram
  • craem
  • creamm
  • crema
  • crream
  • rceam

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccream1ceram2craem2creamm1crema2crream1rceam2
Edit distance from "cream"

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 "cream"?
"cream" is spelled C-R-E-A-M. The IPA pronunciation is /kɹiːm/.
What does "cream" mean?
As a noun, "cream" means: The butterfat or milkfat part of milk which rises to the top; this part when separated from the remainder.
What words are commonly confused with "cream"?
"cream" is commonly confused with "CRM", "crew", "Cree". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cream"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cream" is /kɹiːm/. 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 "cream"?
From Middle English creime, creme, from Old French creme, cresme, blend of Late Latin chrisma (“ointment”) (from Ancient Greek χρῖσμα (khrîsma, “unguent”)), and Late Latin crāmum (“cream”), from Gaulish *crama (compare Welsh cramen (“scab, skin”),... 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 "cream", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

giant#2,390mayor#2,396minor#2,397shots#2,367

Similar misspelling depth

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

pages7 variantsnovel7 variantstheme7 variantsfalse7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list