scarecrow

/ˈskɛəkɹəʊ/

//ˈskɛəkɹəʊ// noun

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

"scarecrow" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“scarecrow” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #25,919. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#25,919
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
14
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An effigy, typically made of straw and dressed in old clothes, fixed to a pole in a field to deter birds from eating crops or seeds planted there.

Corpus desk

Index EN-scarecrow · scarecrow · English

scarecrow · rank #25,919 · 14 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #25,919
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Savoy

Nearest frequency peer: Savoy (-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 “scarecrow”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “scarecrow” 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
Key facts for scarecrow
PropertyValue
Headwordscarecrow
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈskɛəkɹəʊ/
Letters9
Frequency rank#25,919
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “scarecrow”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).scarecrowlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Savoy” (#25,918), “sceptical” (#25,920), “Sargent” (#25,917). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “scarecrow” is #25,919. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around scarecrow (IPA /ˈskɛəkɹəʊ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #25,919 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for scarecrow, with forms such as "csarecrow", "sacrecrow", and "scaercrow". 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. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: The noun is derived from scare (“to frighten, startle, terrify”) + crow (“bird of the genus Corvus”). The word displaced other terms such as bogle (now dialectal, dated), sewel or shewel, and shoy-hoy (perhaps imitative of the cry of crows). The verb is der… The correct English form is scarecrow, spelled S-C-A-R-E-C-R-O-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    An effigy, typically made of straw and dressed in old clothes, fixed to a pole in a field to deter birds from eating crops or seeds planted there.
  2. 2
    A person or animal regarded as resembling a scarecrow (sense 1) in some way; especially, a tall, thin, awkward person; or a person wearing ragged and tattered clothes.
  3. 3
    Synonym of crow scarer (“a farmhand employed to scare birds from the fields”).
  4. 4
    Anything that appears terrifying but presents no danger; a paper tiger.
  5. 5
    Military equipment or tactics used to scare and deter rather than cause actual damage.
  6. 6
    The black tern (Chlidonias niger).
  7. 7
    The hooded crow (Corvus cornix).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. VVots thou vvho's returnd, / The unthrift Bonvile, ragged as a ſcarre-crovv, / The VVarres have gnavv'd his garments to the skinne: […]
  2. [W]e ſet him [the Devil] up like a Scare-Crovv to fright Children and old VVomen, to fill up old Stories, make Songs and Ballads, and in a VVord, carry on the lovv priz'd Buffoonry of the common People; […]

Etymology

The noun is derived from scare (“to frighten, startle, terrify”) + crow (“bird of the genus Corvus”). The word displaced other terms such as bogle (now dialectal, dated), sewel or shewel, and shoy-hoy (perhaps imitative of the cry of crows). The verb is derived from the noun.

Synonyms

crow scarercrowkeeperfrayboggardgallicrowgallybaggermalkinmammetpotato-boglescare-beggarscare-the-birdsscarecrow

This word in other languages

espantapájaros(Español)épouvantail(Français)Vogelscheuche(Deutsch)espantalho(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • csarecrow
  • sacrecrow
  • scaercrow
  • scarcerow
  • scareccrow
  • scarecorw
  • scarecroww
  • scarecrrow
  • scarecrwo
  • scarercow
  • scarrecrow
  • sccarecrow
  • scraecrow
  • sscarecrow

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

csarecrow2sacrecrow2scaercrow2scarcerow2scareccrow1scarecorw2scarecroww1scarecrrow1
Edit distance from "scarecrow"

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 "scarecrow"?
"scarecrow" is spelled S-C-A-R-E-C-R-O-W. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈskɛəkɹəʊ/.
What does "scarecrow" mean?
As a noun, "scarecrow" means: An effigy, typically made of straw and dressed in old clothes, fixed to a pole in a field to deter birds from eating crops or seeds planted there.
What are common misspellings of "scarecrow"?
Common misspellings include "csarecrow", "sacrecrow", "scaercrow", "scarcerow", "scareccrow". The correct spelling is "scarecrow".
How do you pronounce "scarecrow"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "scarecrow" is /ˈskɛəkɹəʊ/. 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 "scarecrow"?
The noun is derived from scare (“to frighten, startle, terrify”) + crow (“bird of the genus Corvus”). The word displaced other terms such as bogle (now dialectal, dated), sewel or shewel, and shoy-hoy (perhaps imitative of the cry of crows). The v... 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 "scarecrow", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

sceptical#25,920scrubbing#25,921softening#25,929splashing#25,932

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

Remington14 variantspeppermint14 variantsunlawfully14 variantsWaterford14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list