crew

/kɹuː/

//kɹuː// noun

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

"crew" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“crew” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,033. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,033
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A group of people together

Corpus desk

Index EN-crew · crew · English

crew · rank #2,033 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,033
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH command

Nearest frequency peer: command (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “crew”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “crew” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

crew vs CW
0% similar
crew vs cry
50% similar
crew vs cue
50% similar

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

Key facts for crew
PropertyValue
Headwordcrew
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kɹuː/
Letters4
Frequency rank#2,033
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “crew” sits in English frequency

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).crewlands 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 “command” (#2,032), “crowd” (#2,034), “Canadian” (#2,031). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around crew (IPA /kɹuː/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #2,033 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 13 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for crew, with forms such as "ccrew", "cerw", and "creww". 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, "CW", "cry", "cue", 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 crue, from Old French creue (“an increase, recruit, military reinforcement”), the feminine past participle of creistre (“grow”), from Latin crescere (“to arise, grow”). The correct English form is crew, spelled C-R-E-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    A group of people together
  2. 2
    A group of people together
  3. 3
    A group of people together
  4. 4
    A group of people together
  5. 5
    A group of people together
  6. 6
    A group of people together
  7. 7
    A group of people together
  8. 8
    A group of people together
  9. 9
    A group of people together
  10. 10
    A person in a crew
  11. 11
    A person in a crew
  12. 12
    A person in a crew
  13. 13
    The sport of competitive rowing.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. There a noble crew / Of Lordes and Ladies stood on every side.
  2. Faithful to whom? to thy rebellious crew?

Etymology

From Middle English crue, from Old French creue (“an increase, recruit, military reinforcement”), the feminine past participle of creistre (“grow”), from Latin crescere (“to arise, grow”).

Synonyms

ship's companyall handscomplementteamgangstaffstagehandscliquegangpackcrowdbunchlotpossecrowdflocklotgangpossebandgroupcrewermembercrewmembernautical only: sailorseamanseaman

This word in other languages

tripulación(Español)équipage(Français)Besatzung(Deutsch)tripulação(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccrew
  • cerw
  • creww
  • crrew
  • crwe
  • rcew

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccrew1cerw2creww1crrew1crwe2rcew2
Edit distance from "crew"

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 "crew"?
"crew" is spelled C-R-E-W. The IPA pronunciation is /kɹuː/.
What does "crew" mean?
As a noun, "crew" means: A group of people together
What words are commonly confused with "crew"?
"crew" is commonly confused with "CW", "cry", "cue". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "crew"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "crew" is /kɹuː/. 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 "crew"?
From Middle English crue, from Old French creue (“an increase, recruit, military reinforcement”), the feminine past participle of creistre (“grow”), from Latin crescere (“to arise, 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 "crew", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

dick#2,036beer#2,029arts#2,028warm#2,025

Similar misspelling depth

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

filled6 variantstired6 variantsocean6 variantswins6 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "crew". Here's where to go from here.

  • "crew" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "CW". View pair
  • 6 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #2,033 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "C" letter cohort. C–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list