croton

/ˈkɹəʊtən/

//ˈkɹəʊtən// noun

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

The verdict

“croton” is uncommon English (frequency #54,102 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#54,102
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of various plants, of the genus Croton, that yield croton oil.

Corpus desk

Index EN-croton · croton · English

croton · rank #54,102 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #54,102
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH crossroad

Nearest frequency peer: crossroad (-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 “croton”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for croton
PropertyValue
Headwordcroton
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɹəʊtən/
Letters6
Frequency rank#54,102
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “croton” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).crotonfalls 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: “crossroad” (#54,101), “Daegu” (#54,106), “dampness” (#54,108). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “croton” is #54,102. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

croton is uncommon English at frequency #54,102 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkɹəʊtən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

croton doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From New Latin crotōn, from Ancient Greek κροτών (krotṓn, “tick”), from the size and shape of the seed. The correct English form is croton, spelled C-R-O-T-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of various plants, of the genus Croton, that yield croton oil.
  2. 2
    A tropical evergreen shrub (Codiaeum variegatum), having glossy foliage, cultivated as a houseplant.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. The croton bushes, by day hideous things like jaundiced laurels, were changed by the moon into jagged black and white designs like fantastic wood-cuts.

Etymology

From New Latin crotōn, from Ancient Greek κροτών (krotṓn, “tick”), from the size and shape of the seed.

This word in other languages

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 "croton"?
"croton" is spelled C-R-O-T-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɹəʊtən/.
What does "croton" mean?
As a noun, "croton" means: Any of various plants, of the genus Croton, that yield croton oil.
How do you pronounce "croton"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "croton" is /ˈkɹəʊtən/. 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 "croton"?
From New Latin crotōn, from Ancient Greek κροτών (krotṓn, “tick”), from the size and shape of the seed. 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 "croton", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list