crescent

/ˈkɹɛ.zn̩t/

//ˈkɹɛ.zn̩t// noun

"crescent" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“crescent” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,491. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,491
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The figure of the moon as it appears between its first or last quarter and the new moon, with concave and convex edges terminating in points.

Corpus desk

Index EN-crescent · crescent · English

crescent · rank #13,491 · 13 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #13,491
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH crises

Nearest frequency peer: crises (+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 “crescent”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “crescent” 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).

crescent vs crescendo
78% similar

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

Key facts for crescent
PropertyValue
Headwordcrescent
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɹɛ.zn̩t/
Letters8
Frequency rank#13,491
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “crescent”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).crescentlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “crises” (#13,492), “concession” (#13,489), “comprehension” (#13,488). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “crescent” is #13,491. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around crescent (IPA /ˈkɹɛ.zn̩t/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #13,491 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for crescent, with forms such as "ccrescent", "cerscent", and "crecsent". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "crescendo", 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 cressaunt, from Anglo-Norman cressaunt and Old French creissant (“crescent of the moon”) (French croissant), from Latin crēscēns, present active participle of crēscō (“arise, thrive”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱreh₁- (“to grow”). See Ol… The correct English form is crescent, spelled C-R-E-S-C-E-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    The figure of the moon as it appears between its first or last quarter and the new moon, with concave and convex edges terminating in points.
  2. 2
    Something shaped like a crescent, especially:
  3. 3
    Something shaped like a crescent, especially:
  4. 4
    Something shaped like a crescent, especially:
  5. 5
    Something shaped like a crescent, especially:
  6. 6
    A crescent spanner.
  7. 7
    Any of three orders of knighthood conferred upon foreigners to whom Turkey might be indebted for valuable services.
  8. 8
    A crescentspot butterfly.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The Turkish flag features a white star and crescent on red base.
  2. Sebastiani receives publicly the Sultan's thanks, and is decorated with the Order of the Crescent

Etymology

From Middle English cressaunt, from Anglo-Norman cressaunt and Old French creissant (“crescent of the moon”) (French croissant), from Latin crēscēns, present active participle of crēscō (“arise, thrive”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱreh₁- (“to grow”). See Old Armenian սերիմ (serim, “be born”) and սերեմ (serem, “bring forth”), Ancient Greek κόρη (kórē, “girl”) and κούρος (koúros, “boy”), Latin creāre (“produce, create, bring forth”) and Ceres (“goddess of agriculture”). Doublet of croissant. The pronunciation with /z/ is a comparatively recent innovation due to the influence of words such as pheasant and present.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccrescent
  • cerscent
  • crecsent
  • cresccent
  • crescennt
  • crescentt
  • crescetn
  • crescnet
  • cresecnt
  • cresscent
  • crrescent
  • crsecent
  • rcescent

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccrescent1cerscent2crecsent2cresccent1crescennt1crescentt1crescetn2crescnet2
Edit distance from "crescent"

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 "crescent"?
"crescent" is spelled C-R-E-S-C-E-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɹɛ.zn̩t/.
What does "crescent" mean?
As a noun, "crescent" means: The figure of the moon as it appears between its first or last quarter and the new moon, with concave and convex edges terminating in points.
What words are commonly confused with "crescent"?
"crescent" is commonly confused with "crescendo". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "crescent"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "crescent" is /ˈkɹɛ.zn̩t/. 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 "crescent"?
From Middle English cressaunt, from Anglo-Norman cressaunt and Old French creissant (“crescent of the moon”) (French croissant), from Latin crēscēns, present active participle of crēscō (“arise, thrive”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱreh₁- (“to grow... 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 "crescent", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list