fingers crossed

[fɪŋɡɚz kʰɹɔst]

/[fɪŋɡɚz kʰɹɔst]/ adv

"fingers-crossed" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“fingers crossed” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
15
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - hopefully

Corpus desk

Index EN-fingers-crossed · fingers crossed · English

fingers crossed · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 15 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "F" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for fingers crossed
PropertyValue
Headwordfingers crossed
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
IPA[fɪŋɡɚz kʰɹɔst]
Letters15
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “fingers crossed” in English

fingers crossedfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

fingers crossed is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed [fɪŋɡɚz kʰɹɔst]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "hopefully".

Zero misspellings are on record for fingers crossed in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: See cross one's fingers The correct English form is fingers crossed, spelled F-I-N-G-E-R-S- -C-R-O-S-S-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    hopefully

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. We'll make it to the finals, fingers crossed.

Etymology

See cross one's fingers

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "fingers crossed"?
"fingers crossed" is spelled F-I-N-G-E-R-S- -C-R-O-S-S-E-D. The IPA pronunciation is [fɪŋɡɚz kʰɹɔst].
What does "fingers crossed" mean?
As an adverb, "fingers crossed" means: hopefully
How do you pronounce "fingers crossed"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fingers crossed" is [fɪŋɡɚz kʰɹɔst]. 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 "fingers crossed"?
See cross one's fingers 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list