crowdsourcing

noun

"crowdsourcing" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“crowdsourcing” has 21 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #42,074. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#42,074
frequency rank, English
43,570
“C” headwords
21
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The delegation of a task to a large diffuse group in order to introduce new or more developed skill sets and improve efficiency. There is usually no substantial monetary compensation involved.

Key facts for crowdsourcing
PropertyValue
Headwordcrowdsourcing
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters13
Frequency rank#42,074
Misspellings tracked21
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “crowdsourcing” 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). crowdsourcing lands here:

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

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

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 21 spelling variants around crowdsourcing, anoun. Corpus frequency is #42,074 among 43,570 “C” headwords. Dominant gloss: "The delegation of a task to a large diffuse group in order to introduce new or more developed skill sets and improve efficiency. There is usually no substantial monetary compensation involved.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 21 likely wrong-spelling variants for crowdsourcing, with forms such as "ccrowdsourcing", "corwdsourcing", and "crodwsourcing". 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. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: Coined by American journalist Jeff Howe in 2006, see quotations. From crowd + sourcing, by analogy with outsourcing. The correct English form is crowdsourcing, spelled C-R-O-W-D-S-O-U-R-C-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    The delegation of a task to a large diffuse group in order to introduce new or more developed skill sets and improve efficiency. There is usually no substantial monetary compensation involved.

Etymology

Coined by American journalist Jeff Howe in 2006, see quotations. From crowd + sourcing, by analogy with outsourcing.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccrowdsourcing
  • corwdsourcing
  • crodwsourcing
  • crowddsourcing
  • crowdosurcing
  • crowdsorucing
  • crowdsoucring
  • crowdsourccing
  • crowdsourcign
  • crowdsourcingg
  • crowdsourcinng
  • crowdsourcnig
  • crowdsouricng
  • crowdsourrcing
  • crowdssourcing
  • crowdsuorcing
  • crowsdourcing
  • crowwdsourcing
  • crrowdsourcing
  • crwodsourcing
  • rcowdsourcing

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of crowdsourcing - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ccrowdsourcing1corwdsourcing2crodwsourcing2crowddsourcing1crowdosurcing2crowdsorucing2crowdsoucring2crowdsourccing1
Edit distance from "crowdsourcing"

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 "crowdsourcing"?
"crowdsourcing" is spelled C-R-O-W-D-S-O-U-R-C-I-N-G.
What does "crowdsourcing" mean?
As a noun, "crowdsourcing" means: The delegation of a task to a large diffuse group in order to introduce new or more developed skill sets and improve efficiency. There is usually no substantial monetary compensation involved.
What are common misspellings of "crowdsourcing"?
Common misspellings include "ccrowdsourcing", "corwdsourcing", "crodwsourcing", "crowddsourcing", "crowdosurcing". The correct spelling is "crowdsourcing".
What is the origin of the word "crowdsourcing"?
Coined by American journalist Jeff Howe in 2006, see quotations. From crowd + sourcing, by analogy with outsourcing. 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 “crowdsourcing”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is C-R-O-W-D-S-O-U-R-C-I-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Same frequency band

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