CRISPR
/ˈkrɪspər/
"crispr" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“CRISPR” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #44,144 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #44,144
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 11
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Segments of bacteria and archaea DNA containing short repetitions of base sequences.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | CRISPR |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈkrɪspər/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #44,144 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 11 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “CRISPR” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for CRISPR is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkrɪspər/. Corpus data places it at rank #44,144 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
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
- 1Segments of bacteria and archaea DNA containing short repetitions of base sequences.
- 2The CRISPR/Cas9 system, which functions to provide immunity to bacteria and archaea by finding a section of DNA and replacing it with an alternative.
- 3Any technique or process or system for editing genomes by laboratory use of the CRISPR/Cas9 system.
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.
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
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Using “CRISPR”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-R-I-S-P-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkrɪspər/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Crist” - see the side-by-side comparison. CRISPR vs Crist
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.