CRISPR

/ˈkrɪspər/

//ˈkrɪspər// noun

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

"crispr" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“CRISPR” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #44,144. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#44,144
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
11
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Segments of bacteria and archaea DNA containing short repetitions of base sequences.

Corpus desk

Index EN-crispr · CRISPR · English

CRISPR · rank #44,144 · 10 variants · 11 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #44,144
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-MID 11 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH crawfish

Nearest frequency peer: crawfish (-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 “CRISPR”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “CRISPR” 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).

CRISPR vs Crist
17% similar
CRISPR vs crispy
0% similar
CRISPR vs crisps
0% similar

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

Key facts for CRISPR
PropertyValue
HeadwordCRISPR
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkrɪspər/
Letters6
Frequency rank#44,144
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs11
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “CRISPR”

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).CRISPRlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “crawfish” (#44,143), “cruciate” (#44,145), “crackhead” (#44,142). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “CRISPR” is #44,144. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around CRISPR (IPA /ˈkrɪspər/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #44,144 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for CRISPR, with forms such as "ccrispr", "cirspr", and "cripsr". 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 11 confusable-pair relationships, "Crist", "crispy", "crisps", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Acronym of clustered, regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats. The correct English form is CRISPR, spelled C-R-I-S-P-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Segments of bacteria and archaea DNA containing short repetitions of base sequences.
  2. 2
    The CRISPR/Cas9 system, which functions to provide immunity to bacteria and archaea by finding a section of DNA and replacing it with an alternative.
  3. 3
    Any technique or process or system for editing genomes by laboratory use of the CRISPR/Cas9 system.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Crispr is a guide molecule made of RNA, that allows a specific site of interest on the DNA double helix to be targeted.
  2. For the first time, doctors in the U.S. have used the powerful gene-editing technique CRISPR to try to treat a patient with a genetic disorder.

Etymology

Acronym of clustered, regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccrispr
  • cirspr
  • cripsr
  • crisppr
  • crisprr
  • crisrp
  • crisspr
  • crrispr
  • crsipr
  • rcispr

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccrispr1cirspr2cripsr2crisppr1crisprr1crisrp2crisspr1crrispr1
Edit distance from "CRISPR"

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 "CRISPR"?
"CRISPR" is spelled C-R-I-S-P-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkrɪspər/.
What does "CRISPR" mean?
As a noun, "CRISPR" means: Segments of bacteria and archaea DNA containing short repetitions of base sequences.
What words are commonly confused with "CRISPR"?
"CRISPR" is commonly confused with "Crist", "crispy", "crisps". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "CRISPR"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "CRISPR" is /ˈkrɪspər/. 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 "CRISPR"?
Acronym of clustered, regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats. 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 "CRISPR", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

defile#44,153delved#44,157dingle#44,164clench#44,122

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

defiled10 variantsdeplete10 variantsdoormat10 variantscaliper10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list