curt

/kɝt/

//kɝt// adj

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

"curt" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“curt” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #23,505. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#23,505
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Brief or terse, especially to the point of being rude.

Corpus desk

Index EN-curt · curt · English

curt · rank #23,505 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #23,505
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH cumbersome

Nearest frequency peer: cumbersome (-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 “curt”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “curt” 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).

curt vs cut
75% similar
curt vs cuz
50% similar
curt vs cute
50% similar

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

Key facts for curt
PropertyValue
Headwordcurt
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/kɝt/
Letters4
Frequency rank#23,505
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “curt”

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).curtlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “cumbersome” (#23,504), “cyclic” (#23,506), “crossfit” (#23,503). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “curt” is #23,505. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around curt (IPA /kɝt/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #23,505 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for curt, with forms such as "ccurt", "crut", and "currt". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "cut", "cuz", "cute", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From the Latin curtus (“shortened”). Cognate with Dutch kort, German kurz, Galician curto, French court, Italian corto, Portuguese curto, and Spanish corto. Doublet of short. The correct English form is curt, spelled C-U-R-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Brief or terse, especially to the point of being rude.
  2. 2
    Short or concise.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Again I begged her to keep an eye on her blood pressure and not get so worked up, and once more she brushed me off, this time with a curt request that I would go and boil my head. [...] Beginning with a curt “Listen, Buster,” she proceeded to sketch out with admirable clearness the salient points in the situation as she envisaged it […]

Etymology

From the Latin curtus (“shortened”). Cognate with Dutch kort, German kurz, Galician curto, French court, Italian corto, Portuguese curto, and Spanish corto. Doublet of short.

This word in other languages

seco(Español)abrupt(Français)brüsk(Deutsch)brusco(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccurt
  • crut
  • currt
  • curtt
  • cutr
  • ucrt

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccurt1crut2currt1curtt1cutr2ucrt2
Edit distance from "curt"

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 "curt"?
"curt" is spelled C-U-R-T. The IPA pronunciation is /kɝt/.
What does "curt" mean?
As an adjective, "curt" means: Brief or terse, especially to the point of being rude.
What words are commonly confused with "curt"?
"curt" is commonly confused with "cut", "cuz", "cute". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "curt"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "curt" is /kɝt/. 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 "curt"?
From the Latin curtus (“shortened”). Cognate with Dutch kort, German kurz, Galician curto, French court, Italian corto, Portuguese curto, and Spanish corto. Doublet of short. 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 "curt", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Dade#23,508camo#23,484Amor#23,453kano#23,578

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

Farah6 variantsbaggy6 variantsinfer6 variantskennel6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list