crosse

noun

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

The verdict

“crosse” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #33,192 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#33,192
frequency rank, English
6
letters
6
tracked misspellings
16
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A lacrosse stick.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

crosse vs crows
67% similar
crosse vs cruise
67% similar
crosse vs Crusoe
50% similar

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

Key facts for crosse
PropertyValue
Headwordcrosse
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters6
Frequency rank#33,192
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs16
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “crosse” 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). crosse 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 crosse is 6 letters long, classified as a noun. Corpus data places it at rank #33,192 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A lacrosse stick.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for crosse, with forms such as "ccrosse", "corsse", and "crose". 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 16 confusable-pair relationships, "crows", "cruise", "Crusoe", 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 French crosse (“stick”), of Germanic origin. Doublet of crutch. The correct English form is crosse, spelled C-R-O-S-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A lacrosse stick.

Etymology

From French crosse (“stick”), of Germanic origin. Doublet of crutch.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ccrosse,corsse,crose,crrosse,crsose,rcosse

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccrosse1corsse2crose1crrosse1crsose2rcosse2
Edit distance from "crosse"

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 "crosse"?
"crosse" is spelled C-R-O-S-S-E.
What does "crosse" mean?
As a noun, "crosse" means: A lacrosse stick.
What words are commonly confused with "crosse"?
"crosse" is commonly confused with "crows", "cruise", "Crusoe". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "crosse"?
From French crosse (“stick”), of Germanic origin. Doublet of crutch. 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 “crosse”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is C-R-O-S-S-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Don't mix it up with “crows” - see the side-by-side comparison. crosse vs crows
  • 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