war crime

/ˈwɔː kɹaɪm/

//ˈwɔː kɹaɪm// noun

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

"war-crime" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“war crime” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A punishable offence under international law for violations of the laws of war by any person or persons, military or civilian.

Key facts for war crime
PropertyValue
Headwordwar crime
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈwɔː kɹaɪm/
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “war crime” sits in English frequency

war crime falls 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

war crime is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈwɔː kɹaɪm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A punishable offence under international law for violations of the laws of war by any person or persons, military or civilian.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for war crime, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From war + crime. The correct English form is war crime, spelled W-A-R- -C-R-I-M-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A punishable offence under international law for violations of the laws of war by any person or persons, military or civilian.

Etymology

From war + crime.

This word in other languages

crime de guerre(Français)Kriegsverbrechen(Deutsch)crime de guerra(Português)

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 "war crime"?
"war crime" is spelled W-A-R- -C-R-I-M-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈwɔː kɹaɪm/.
What does "war crime" mean?
As a noun, "war crime" means: A punishable offence under international law for violations of the laws of war by any person or persons, military or civilian.
How do you pronounce "war crime"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "war crime" is /ˈwɔː kɹaɪm/. 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 "war crime"?
From war + crime. 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.

Using “war crime”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is W-A-R- -C-R-I-M-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈwɔː kɹaɪm/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list