crusade

/kɹuːˈseɪd/

//kɹuːˈseɪd// noun

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

"crusade" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“crusade” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,129. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,129
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of the Papally-endorsed military expeditions undertaken by the Christians of Latin Europe in the 11th to 13th centuries to reconquer the Levant from the Muslims, as well as expeditions along th...

Corpus desk

Index EN-crusade · crusade · English

crusade · rank #13,129 · 10 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #13,129
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH crawling

Nearest frequency peer: crawling (-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 “crusade”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “crusade” 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).

crusade vs Crusoe
57% similar
crusade vs crusader
88% similar
crusade vs crude
71% similar

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

Key facts for crusade
PropertyValue
Headwordcrusade
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kɹuːˈseɪd/
Letters7
Frequency rank#13,129
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “crusade”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).crusadelands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “crawling” (#13,128), “cynical” (#13,130), “courageous” (#13,127). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “crusade” is #13,129. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around crusade (IPA /kɹuːˈseɪd/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #13,129 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for crusade, with forms such as "ccrusade", "crrusade", and "crsuade". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "Crusoe", "crusader", "crude", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French croisade, introduced into English (in the French spelling) by 1575. The modern spelling emerges c. 1760,. Middle French croisade is introduced in the 15th century, based on Spanish cruzada (late 14th century) and Old Occitan crozada (early 13th … The correct English form is crusade, spelled C-R-U-S-A-D-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of the Papally-endorsed military expeditions undertaken by the Christians of Latin Europe in the 11th to 13th centuries to reconquer the Levant from the Muslims, as well as expeditions along the Baltic Sea and against the Cathars.
  2. 2
    Any war instigated and blessed by the Church for alleged religious ends, (especially) papal-sanctioned military campaigns against infidels or heretics.
  3. 3
    A grand, concerted effort towards some purportedly worthy cause.
  4. 4
    A mass gathering in a political campaign or during a religious revival effort.
  5. 5
    A Portuguese coin; a crusado.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. During the crusades, many Muslims and Christians and Jews were slaughtered.
  2. Their way lay through the hall, where hung the helm of many a bold forefather, and arms that had seen service even in the crusades.

Etymology

From French croisade, introduced into English (in the French spelling) by 1575. The modern spelling emerges c. 1760,. Middle French croisade is introduced in the 15th century, based on Spanish cruzada (late 14th century) and Old Occitan crozada (early 13th century), both reflecting Medieval Latin cruciāta, cruxiata, the feminine singular of the adjective cruciātus used as an abstract noun. Adjectival cruciātus originally meant "tormented; crucified", but from the 12th century crucesignatus was also used for "marked with a cross; making the sign of the cross" and eventually "taking the cross" in the sense of "going on a crusade". Old Occitan crozada is used in the sense "[the Albigensian] crusade" in the Song of the Albigensian crusade, written c. 1213. From vernacular usage, Middle Latin cruciāta also comes to be used in the sense "crusade" from about 1270.

This word in other languages

cruzada(Español)croisade(Français)Kreuzzug(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccrusade
  • crrusade
  • crsuade
  • cruasde
  • crusadde
  • crusaed
  • crusdae
  • crussade
  • cursade
  • rcusade

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of crusade - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ccrusade1crrusade1crsuade2cruasde2crusadde1crusaed2crusdae2crussade1
Edit distance from "crusade"

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 "crusade"?
"crusade" is spelled C-R-U-S-A-D-E. The IPA pronunciation is /kɹuːˈseɪd/.
What does "crusade" mean?
As a noun, "crusade" means: Any of the Papally-endorsed military expeditions undertaken by the Christians of Latin Europe in the 11th to 13th centuries to reconquer the Levant from the Muslims, as well as expeditions along th...
What words are commonly confused with "crusade"?
"crusade" is commonly confused with "Crusoe", "crusader", "crude". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "crusade"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "crusade" is /kɹuːˈseɪd/. 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 "crusade"?
From French croisade, introduced into English (in the French spelling) by 1575. The modern spelling emerges c. 1760,. Middle French croisade is introduced in the 15th century, based on Spanish cruzada (late 14th century) and Old Occitan crozada (e... 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 "crusade", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

cynical#13,130devised#13,132disrupt#13,134Donovan#13,136

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

elastic10 variantsfunniest10 variantsbehaved10 variantsbanquet10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list