crux
/kɹʌks/noun
crux is spelled C-R-U-X: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,150th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, crux means “The basic, central, or essential point or feature” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of crux is cruxes or cruces.
How many letters and syllables are in crux?
| Letters | 4: C-R-U-X |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.1 times per million words; the 27,150th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is crux?
Crux appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,150th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce crux?
- UK /kɹʌks/
- /kɹʊks/
- /kɾʌks/
Crux has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-crux.ogg, En-au-crux.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of crux
- cruxes plural
- cruces plural
- crocs
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does crux mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The basic, central, or essential point or feature.
The crux of her argument was that the roadways needed repair before anything else could be accomplished.
- 2
The critical or transitional moment or issue, a turning point.
- 3
A puzzle or difficulty.
- 4
The hardest point of a climb.
The final half-mile was the crux of the climb.
- 5
A cross on a coat of arms.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Crux in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Kern (-punkt) , Wendepunkt , Crux, Knackpunkt |
| Portuguese | ponto crucial , momento decisivo |
| Spanish | punto crucial, asunto esencial, quid, meollo , busilis |
| French | crux |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does crux come from?
Borrowed 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”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).