crux
/kɹʌks/
"crux" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“crux” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #27,109 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #27,109
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The basic, central, or essential point or feature.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | crux |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /kɹʌks/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #27,109 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “crux” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for crux is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /kɹʌks/. Corpus data places it at rank #27,109 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for crux, with forms such as "ccrux", "crrux", and "cruxx". 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, "CU", "CX", "cut", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin crux (“cross, wooden frame for execution”), possibly from the Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to turn, to bend”). Doublet of cross and crouch (“cross”). The correct English form is crux, spelled C-R-U-X.
Definition
- 1The basic, central, or essential point or feature.
- 2The critical or transitional moment or issue, a turning point.
- 3A puzzle or difficulty.
- 4The hardest point of a climb.
- 5A cross on a coat of arms.
Etymology
From Latin crux (“cross, wooden frame for execution”), possibly from the Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to turn, to bend”). Doublet of cross and crouch (“cross”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ccrux,crrux,cruxx,crxu,curx,rcux
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of crux - 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.
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
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Using “crux”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-R-U-X - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /kɹʌks/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “CU” - see the side-by-side comparison. crux vs CU
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.