croon

/kɹuːn/

//kɹuːn// verb

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

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

The verdict

“croon” is uncommon English (frequency #74,859 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#74,859
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To hum or sing (a song or tune), or to speak (words), softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; specifically, to sing (a popular song) in a low, mellow voice.

Corpus desk

Index EN-croon · croon · English

croon · rank #74,859 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #74,859
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH crimping

Nearest frequency peer: crimping (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “croon”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “croon” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for croon
PropertyValue
Headwordcroon
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/kɹuːn/
Letters5
Frequency rank#74,859
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “croon” in English

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “crimping” (#74,858), “CRES” (#74,857), “cravens” (#74,856). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “croon” is #74,859. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

croon is uncommon English at frequency #74,859 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /kɹuːn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 6 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for croon in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: The verb is borrowed from Scots croon (“to utter a deep, long-drawn-out sound; to utter a lament, mourn; to sing in a wailing voice, whimper, whine; to mutter or sing in an undertone, hum”) [and other forms], from Middle English cronen (“to sing or speak so… The correct English form is croon, spelled C-R-O-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    To hum or sing (a song or tune), or to speak (words), softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; specifically, to sing (a popular song) in a low, mellow voice.
  2. 2
    To soothe (a person or an animal) by singing softly.
  3. 3
    To hum or sing, or to speak, softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; specifically, to sing a popular song in a low, mellow voice.
  4. 4
    To lament, to moan.
  5. 5
    To make a continuous hollow low-pitched moan, as of cattle; to bellow, to low.
  6. 6
    Of a large bell: to make a low-pitched sound.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He was crooning a song.
  2. Tam ſkelpit on thro' dub and mire, / Deſpiſing vvind, and rain, and fire; / VVhiles holding faſt his gude blue bonnet; / VVhiles crooning o'er ſome auld Scots ſonnet; […]

Etymology

The verb is borrowed from Scots croon (“to utter a deep, long-drawn-out sound; to utter a lament, mourn; to sing in a wailing voice, whimper, whine; to mutter or sing in an undertone, hum”) [and other forms], from Middle English cronen (“to sing or speak softly, hum, croon”) (croyn (Scotland)) [and other forms], probably from Middle Dutch crônen, krônen (“to groan, moan; to lament”) (modern Dutch kreunen (“to moan”)), or Old High German chrônan, krônen (“to babble, prattle; to chatter”), probably from Proto-West Germanic *kraunijan, from Proto-Indo-European *gerH- (“to cry hoarsely”). The noun is partly: * borrowed from Scots croon (“a lament, wail; mournful song; low murmuring tune; (obsolete) long-drawn-out sound”), from croon (verb): see above; and * derived from the verb. Cognates * Middle Dutch krônen (modern Dutch kreunen (“to groan, moan; to lament”)) * Middle Low German kroenen (“to babble, prattle; to chatter”), kronen (“to growl; to grumble; to scold”) * Old High German chrônan, chrônnan (“to babble, prattle; to chatter”) * Saterland Frisian krȫnen (“to cause to weep”)

This word in other languages

canturrear(Español)säuseln(Deutsch)

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 "croon"?
"croon" is spelled C-R-O-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /kɹuːn/.
What does "croon" mean?
As a verb, "croon" means: To hum or sing (a song or tune), or to speak (words), softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; specifically, to sing (a popular song) in a low, mellow voice.
How do you pronounce "croon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "croon" is /kɹuːn/. 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 "croon"?
The verb is borrowed from Scots croon (“to utter a deep, long-drawn-out sound; to utter a lament, mourn; to sing in a wailing voice, whimper, whine; to mutter or sing in an undertone, hum”) [and other forms], from Middle English cronen (“to sing o... 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 "croon", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

culls#74,867cusps#74,869dancy#74,874Danko#74,875

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list