crook

/kɹʊk/

//kɹʊk// noun

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

"crook" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“crook” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #16,881. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#16,881
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 bend; turn; curve; curvature; a flexure.

Corpus desk

Index EN-crook · crook · English

crook · rank #16,881 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #16,881
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH CPS

Nearest frequency peer: CPS (-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 “crook”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “crook” 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).

crook vs crop
60% similar
crook vs crow
60% similar
crook vs cross
60% similar

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

Key facts for crook
PropertyValue
Headwordcrook
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kɹʊk/
Letters5
Frequency rank#16,881
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “crook”

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).crooklands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “CPS” (#16,880), “cucumber” (#16,882), “darts” (#16,884). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “crook” is #16,881. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around crook (IPA /kɹʊk/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #16,881 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 11 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for crook, with forms such as "ccrook", "corok", and "croko". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "crop", "crow", "cross", 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 croke, crok, from Old English *crōc (“hook, bend, crook”), from Proto-West Germanic *krōk, from Proto-Germanic *krōkaz (“bend, hook”), from Proto-Indo-European *greg- (“tracery, basket, bend”). Cognate with Dutch kreuk (“a bend, fold, wr… The correct English form is crook, spelled C-R-O-O-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    A bend; turn; curve; curvature; a flexure.
  2. 2
    A bending of the knee; a genuflection.
  3. 3
    A bent or curved part; a curving piece or portion (of anything).
  4. 4
    A lock or curl of hair.
  5. 5
    A support beam consisting of a post with a cross-beam resting upon it; a bracket or truss consisting of a vertical piece, a horizontal piece, and a strut.
  6. 6
    A specialized staff with a semi-circular bend (a "hook") at one end used by shepherds to control their herds.
  7. 7
    A bishop's standard staff of office.
  8. 8
    An artifice; a trick; a contrivance.
  9. 9
    A person who steals, lies, cheats or does other dishonest or illegal things; a criminal.
  10. 10
    A pothook.
  11. 11
    A small tube, usually curved, applied to a trumpet, horn, etc., to change its pitch or key.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. She held the baby in the crook of her arm.
  2. he walks bye lanes, and crooks

Etymology

From Middle English croke, crok, from Old English *crōc (“hook, bend, crook”), from Proto-West Germanic *krōk, from Proto-Germanic *krōkaz (“bend, hook”), from Proto-Indo-European *greg- (“tracery, basket, bend”). Cognate with Dutch kreuk (“a bend, fold, wrinkle”), Middle Low German kroke, krake (“fold, wrinkle”), Danish krog (“crook, hook”), Swedish krok (“crook, hook”), Icelandic krókur (“hook”). Compare typologically Czech křivák (< křivý < Proto-Slavic *krivъ, whence also *krivьda).

Synonyms

criminal

This word in other languages

ladrón(Español)escroc(Français)Gauner(Deutsch)cajado(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccrook
  • corok
  • croko
  • crookk
  • crrook
  • rcook

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccrook1corok2croko2crookk1crrook1rcook2
Edit distance from "crook"

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 "crook"?
"crook" is spelled C-R-O-O-K. The IPA pronunciation is /kɹʊk/.
What does "crook" mean?
As a noun, "crook" means: A bend; turn; curve; curvature; a flexure.
What words are commonly confused with "crook"?
"crook" is commonly confused with "crop", "crow", "cross". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "crook"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "crook" is /kɹʊk/. 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 "crook"?
From Middle English croke, crok, from Old English *crōc (“hook, bend, crook”), from Proto-West Germanic *krōk, from Proto-Germanic *krōkaz (“bend, hook”), from Proto-Indo-European *greg- (“tracery, basket, bend”). Cognate with Dutch kreuk (“a bend... 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 "crook", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

darts#16,884diver#16,892Conan#16,869Duffy#16,897

Similar misspelling depth

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

carve6 variantsfigs6 variantsaides6 variantsagile6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list