crust

/kɹʌst/

//kɹʌst// noun

"crust" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“crust” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,194. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#11,194
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 more solid, dense or hard layer on a surface or boundary.

Corpus desk

Index EN-crust · crust · English

crust · rank #11,194 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #11,194
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH crisp

Nearest frequency peer: crisp (-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 “crust”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “crust” 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).

crust vs cut
60% similar
crust vs CST
0% similar
crust vs cult
60% similar

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

Key facts for crust
PropertyValue
Headwordcrust
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kɹʌst/
Letters5
Frequency rank#11,194
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “crust”

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).crustlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “crisp” (#11,193), “cutter” (#11,195), “creed” (#11,192). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “crust” is #11,194. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around crust (IPA /kɹʌst/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #11,194 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 12 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for crust, with forms such as "ccrust", "crrust", and "crsut". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "cut", "CST", "cult", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English cruste, from Anglo-Norman and Old French cruste, from Latin crusta (“hard outer covering”), from Proto-Indo-European *krustós (“hardened”), from *krews- (“to form a crust, begin to freeze”), related to Old Norse hroðr (“scurf”), Old Engl… The correct English form is crust, spelled C-R-U-S-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A more solid, dense or hard layer on a surface or boundary.
  2. 2
    The external, hardened layer of certain foodstuffs, including most types of bread, fried meat, etc.
  3. 3
    An outer layer composed of pastry
  4. 4
    The bread-like base of a pizza.
  5. 5
    A slice of bread cut from the end of a loaf; the heel.
  6. 6
    The outermost layer of the lithosphere of the Earth.
  7. 7
    The outermost layer of the lithosphere of any terrestrial planet.
  8. 8
    The shell of crabs, lobsters, etc.
  9. 9
    A living.
  10. 10
    Nerve, gall.
  11. 11
    The head.
  12. 12
    Ellipsis of crust punk, a subgenre of punk music.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Th' impenetrable crust thy teeth defies.
  2. They […] made the crust for the venison pasty.

Etymology

From Middle English cruste, from Anglo-Norman and Old French cruste, from Latin crusta (“hard outer covering”), from Proto-Indo-European *krustós (“hardened”), from *krews- (“to form a crust, begin to freeze”), related to Old Norse hroðr (“scurf”), Old English hruse (“earth”), Old High German hrosa (“crust, ice”), Latvian kruvesis (“frozen mud”), Ancient Greek κρύος (krúos, “frost, icy cold”), κρύσταλλος (krústallos, “crystal, ice”), Avestan 𐬑𐬭𐬎𐬰𐬛𐬭𐬀- (xruzdra-, “hard”), Sanskrit क्रूड् (krūḍ, “thicken, make hard”).

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccrust
  • crrust
  • crsut
  • crusst
  • crustt
  • cruts
  • curst
  • rcust

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccrust1crrust1crsut2crusst1crustt1cruts2curst2rcust2
Edit distance from "crust"

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 "crust"?
"crust" is spelled C-R-U-S-T. The IPA pronunciation is /kɹʌst/.
What does "crust" mean?
As a noun, "crust" means: A more solid, dense or hard layer on a surface or boundary.
What words are commonly confused with "crust"?
"crust" is commonly confused with "cut", "CST", "cult". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "crust"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "crust" is /kɹʌst/. 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 "crust"?
From Middle English cruste, from Anglo-Norman and Old French cruste, from Latin crusta (“hard outer covering”), from Proto-Indo-European *krustós (“hardened”), from *krews- (“to form a crust, begin to freeze”), related to Old Norse hroðr (“scurf”)... 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 "crust", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list