cruise

/kɹuːz/

//kɹuːz// noun

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

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

The verdict

“cruise” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,933. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,933
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A sea or lake voyage, especially one taken for pleasure.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cruise · cruise · English

cruise · rank #4,933 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,933
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH completion

Nearest frequency peer: completion (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “cruise”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “cruise” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

cruise vs crush
67% similar
cruise vs curse
67% similar
cruise vs crust
67% similar

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

Key facts for cruise
PropertyValue
Headwordcruise
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kɹuːz/
Letters6
Frequency rank#4,933
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “cruise”

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

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “completion” (#4,932), “custody” (#4,934), “competing” (#4,931). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cruise” is #4,933. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around cruise (IPA /kɹuːz/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,933 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for cruise, with forms such as "ccruise", "criuse", and "crruise". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "crush", "curse", "crust", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Dutch kruisen (“cross, sail around”), from kruis (“cross”), from Middle Dutch cruce, from Latin crux. The correct English form is cruise, spelled C-R-U-I-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A sea or lake voyage, especially one taken for pleasure.
  2. 2
    Portion of aircraft travel at a constant airspeed and altitude between ascent and descent phases.
  3. 3
    A period spent in the Marine Corps.
  4. 4
    A car enthusiasts' event where they drive their vehicles in a group.
  5. 5
    A period of reducing the dosage of PEDs instead of cycling them off as opposed to a full-dosed cycle (blast).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Judge Short had gone to town, and Farrar was off for a three days' cruise up the lake. I was bitterly regretting I had not gone with him when the distant notes of a coach horn reached my ear, and I descried a four-in-hand winding its way up the inn road from the direction of Mohair.
  2. He departed with the Naniwa and the Hashidate²⁰ for a two day cruise, skirting the Wuchiu and Hui Ch’uan Islands and the shore of Fukien Province.

Etymology

Borrowed from Dutch kruisen (“cross, sail around”), from kruis (“cross”), from Middle Dutch cruce, from Latin crux.

This word in other languages

crucero(Español)croisière(Français)Kreuzfahrt(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccruise
  • criuse
  • crruise
  • cruies
  • cruisse
  • crusie
  • curise
  • rcuise

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cruise - 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.

ccruise1criuse2crruise1cruies2cruisse1crusie2curise2rcuise2
Edit distance from "cruise"

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 "cruise"?
"cruise" is spelled C-R-U-I-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /kɹuːz/.
What does "cruise" mean?
As a noun, "cruise" means: A sea or lake voyage, especially one taken for pleasure.
What words are commonly confused with "cruise"?
"cruise" is commonly confused with "crush", "curse", "crust". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cruise"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cruise" is /kɹuːz/. 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 "cruise"?
Borrowed from Dutch kruisen (“cross, sail around”), from kruis (“cross”), from Middle Dutch cruce, from Latin crux. 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 "cruise", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

delete#4,935batman#4,917worlds#4,910Oliver#4,967

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

climb8 variantsappeals8 variantstrips8 variantsnasty8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list