crosstalk

noun

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

"crosstalk" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“crosstalk” is uncommon English (frequency #61,395 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#61,395
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Undesirable signals from a neighbouring transmission circuit; undesired coupling between circuits.

Corpus desk

Index EN-crosstalk · crosstalk · English

crosstalk · rank #61,395 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #61,395
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH crooner

Nearest frequency peer: crooner (-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 “crosstalk”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for crosstalk
PropertyValue
Headwordcrosstalk
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters9
Frequency rank#61,395
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “crosstalk” 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).crosstalkfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “crooner” (#61,394), “crevasse” (#61,393), “Crayola” (#61,392). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “crosstalk” is #61,395. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

crosstalk is uncommon English at frequency #61,395 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

crosstalk doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From cross- + talk. Usage in reference to the Chinese comedic performance is probably a loose calque from Chinese 相聲／相声 (xiàngsheng). The correct English form is crosstalk, spelled C-R-O-S-S-T-A-L-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    Undesirable signals from a neighbouring transmission circuit; undesired coupling between circuits.
  2. 2
    The situation where one or more components of a signal transduction pathway affect another pathway.
  3. 3
    Conversation that is incidental to the topic under discussion.
  4. 4
    A traditional Chinese comedic performance in the form of a dialogue.
  5. 5
    Communication between parties who have extremely different perspectives.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I couldn't hear the opening address because of all the crosstalk around me.
  2. Sharing resources for mutual benefit: crosstalk between disciplines deepns the understanding of mycorrhizal symbioses.

Etymology

From cross- + talk. Usage in reference to the Chinese comedic performance is probably a loose calque from Chinese 相聲／相声 (xiàngsheng).

This word in other languages

diaphonie(Français)Übersprechen(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 "crosstalk"?
"crosstalk" is spelled C-R-O-S-S-T-A-L-K.
What does "crosstalk" mean?
As a noun, "crosstalk" means: Undesirable signals from a neighbouring transmission circuit; undesired coupling between circuits.
What is the origin of the word "crosstalk"?
From cross- + talk. Usage in reference to the Chinese comedic performance is probably a loose calque from Chinese 相聲／相声 (xiàngsheng). 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 "crosstalk", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Clydebank#61,379disclaims#61,419Choudhury#61,365Chatfield#61,361

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list