crooked

/kɹʊkt/

//kɹʊkt// verb

"crooked" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“crooked” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #12,397 in English word frequency and used as a verb.

#12,397
frequency rank, English
7
letters
10
tracked misspellings
18
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - simple past and past participle of crook

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

crooked vs crooks
71% similar
crooked vs crossed
71% similar
crooked vs crowded
71% similar

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

Key facts for crooked
PropertyValue
Headwordcrooked
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/kɹʊkt/
Letters7
Frequency rank#12,397
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs18
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “crooked” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). crooked lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for crooked is 7 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /kɹʊkt/. Corpus data places it at rank #12,397 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "simple past and past participle of crook".

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for crooked, with forms such as "ccrooked", "coroked", and "croked". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 18 confusable-pair relationships, "crooks", "crossed", "crowded", 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 crook, equivalent to crook + -ed. The correct English form is crooked, spelled C-R-O-O-K-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    simple past and past participle of crook

Etymology

From crook, equivalent to crook + -ed.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ccrooked,coroked,croked,crokoed,crooekd,crookde,crookedd,crookked,crrooked,rcooked

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of crooked - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ccrooked1coroked2croked1crokoed2crooekd2crookde2crookedd1crookked1
Edit distance from "crooked"

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 "crooked"?
"crooked" is spelled C-R-O-O-K-E-D. The IPA pronunciation is /kɹʊkt/.
What does "crooked" mean?
As a verb, "crooked" means: simple past and past participle of crook
What words are commonly confused with "crooked"?
"crooked" is commonly confused with "crooks", "crossed", "crowded". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "crooked"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "crooked" is /kɹʊkt/. 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 "crooked"?
From crook, equivalent to crook + -ed. 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.

Using “crooked”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is C-R-O-O-K-E-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /kɹʊkt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “crooks” - see the side-by-side comparison. crooked vs crooks
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list