crib

/kɹɪb/

//kɹɪb// noun

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

The verdict

“crib” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #15,379. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#15,379
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 baby’s bed with high, often slatted, often moveable sides, suitable for a child who has outgrown a cradle or bassinet.

Corpus desk

Index EN-crib · crib · English

crib · rank #15,379 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #15,379
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH corrosion

Nearest frequency peer: corrosion (-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 “crib”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “crib” 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).

crib vs cry
50% similar
crib vs Cub
25% similar
crib vs CSI
0% similar

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

Key facts for crib
PropertyValue
Headwordcrib
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kɹɪb/
Letters4
Frequency rank#15,379
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “crib”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).criblands 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 “corrosion” (#15,378), “crossroads” (#15,380), “correcting” (#15,377). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “crib” is #15,379. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around crib (IPA /kɹɪb/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #15,379 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 24 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for crib, with forms such as "ccrib", "cirb", and "crbi". 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, "cry", "Cub", "CSI", 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 crib, cribbe, from Old English crib, cryb, cribb, crybb (“couch, bed; manger, stall”), from Proto-West Germanic *kribbjā, from Proto-Germanic *kribjǭ (“crib, wickerwork”), from Proto-Indo-European *grebʰ-, *gerbʰ- (“bunch, bundle, tuft, … The correct English form is crib, spelled C-R-I-B.

Definition

  1. 1
    A baby’s bed with high, often slatted, often moveable sides, suitable for a child who has outgrown a cradle or bassinet.
  2. 2
    A bed for a child older than a baby.
  3. 3
    A small sleeping berth in a packet or other small vessel.
  4. 4
    A wicker basket.
  5. 5
    A manger, a feeding trough for animals elevated off the earth or floor, especially one for fodder such as hay.
  6. 6
    The baby Jesus and the manger in a creche or nativity scene, consisting of statues of Mary, Joseph and various other characters such as the magi.
  7. 7
    A bin for drying or storing grain, such as a corn crib.
  8. 8
    A small room or covered structure, especially one of rough construction, used for storage or penning animals.
  9. 9
    A confined space, such as a cage or office cubicle.
  10. 10
    A job, a position; (British) an appointment.
  11. 11
    A hovel, a roughly constructed building best suited to the shelter of animals but used for human habitation.
  12. 12
    A boxy structure traditionally built of heavy wooden timbers, to support an existing structure from below, as with a mineshaft or a building being raised off its foundation in preparation for being moved; see cribbing.
  13. 13
    A collection of quotes or references for use in speaking, for assembling a written document, or as an aid to a project of some sort; a crib sheet.
  14. 14
    A minor theft, extortion or embezzlement, with or without criminal intent.
  15. 15
    The card game cribbage.
  16. 16
    The cards discarded by players and used by the dealer.
  17. 17
    A known piece of information corresponding to a section of encrypted text, that is then used to work out the remaining sections.
  18. 18
    A small holiday home, often near a beach and of simple construction.
  19. 19
    A snack or packed lunch, especially as taken to work to eat during a break.
  20. 20
    A small raft made of timber.
  21. 21
    The stomach.
  22. 22
    A literal translation, usually of a work originally in Latin or Ancient Greek.
  23. 23
    A cheat sheet or past test used by students; crib sheet.
  24. 24
    One’s residence, house or dwelling place, or usual place of resort.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. In two minutes I was kneeling by the child’s crib, and Sandy was dispatching servants here, there, and everywhere, all over the palace. I took in the situation almost at a glance -- membranous croup!
  2. a day or two afterwards I learned that Miss Temple, on returning to her own room at dawn, had found me laid in the little crib; my face against Helen Burns’s shoulder, my arms round her neck. I was asleep, and Helen was -- dead.

Etymology

From Middle English crib, cribbe, from Old English crib, cryb, cribb, crybb (“couch, bed; manger, stall”), from Proto-West Germanic *kribbjā, from Proto-Germanic *kribjǭ (“crib, wickerwork”), from Proto-Indo-European *grebʰ-, *gerbʰ- (“bunch, bundle, tuft, clump”), from *ger- (“to turn, twist”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Kräbbe, Krääb, Krääf (“crib”), West Frisian krêbe (“crib”), Dutch krib (“crib, manger”), German Krippe (“rack, crib”), Danish krybbe (“crib”), Icelandic krubba (“crib”). Doublet of crèche. The sense of ‘stealing, taking notes, plagiarize’ seems to have developed out of the verb. The criminal sense may derive from the 'basket' sense, circa the mid 18th century, in that a poacher could conceal poachings in such a basket (see the 1772 Samuel Foote quotation). The cheating sense probably derives from the criminal sense.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccrib
  • cirb
  • crbi
  • cribb
  • crrib
  • rcib

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccrib1cirb2crbi2cribb1crrib1rcib2
Edit distance from "crib"

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 "crib"?
"crib" is spelled C-R-I-B. The IPA pronunciation is /kɹɪb/.
What does "crib" mean?
As a noun, "crib" means: A baby’s bed with high, often slatted, often moveable sides, suitable for a child who has outgrown a cradle or bassinet.
What words are commonly confused with "crib"?
"crib" is commonly confused with "cry", "Cub", "CSI". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "crib"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "crib" is /kɹɪb/. 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 "crib"?
From Middle English crib, cribbe, from Old English crib, cryb, cribb, crybb (“couch, bed; manger, stall”), from Proto-West Germanic *kribbjā, from Proto-Germanic *kribjǭ (“crib, wickerwork”), from Proto-Indo-European *grebʰ-, *gerbʰ- (“bunch, bund... 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 "crib", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Similar misspelling depth

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list