crosse

\kʁɔs\

/\kʁɔs\/ noun

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

The verdict

“crosse” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #16,332 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#16,332
frequency rank, French
6
letters
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Bâton pastoral d’évêque ou d’abbé, dont l’extrémité supérieure se recourbe en volute.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

crosse vs CROUS
0% similar
crosse vs cuisse
67% similar
crosse vs croûte
67% similar

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

Key facts for crosse
PropertyValue
Headwordcrosse
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\kʁɔs\
Letters6
Frequency rank#16,332
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “crosse” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). crosse lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for crosse is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \kʁɔs\. Corpus data places it at rank #16,332 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 13 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for crosse, with forms such as "ccrosse", "croses", and "crrosse". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "CROUS", "cuisse", "croûte", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is crosse, spelled C-R-O-S-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Bâton pastoral d’évêque ou d’abbé, dont l’extrémité supérieure se recourbe en volute.
  2. 2
    Partie postérieure d'une arme à feu portative, servant à tenir ou appuyer l’arme, lors du tir.
  3. 3
    Manche d’une arme de poing.
  4. 4
    Diacritique suscrit à une lettre.
  5. 5
    Béquille, bâton recourbé sur lequel s’appuient pour marcher les infirmes, les blessés, etc.
  6. 6
    Bâton courbé à son extrémité, utilisé dans certains sports comme le golf, le hockey sur glace, pour pousser la balle ou le palet.
  7. 7
    Sport collectif opposant deux équipes de dix joueurs chacune, où les joueurs se servent d’une crosse, munie d’un filet, pour lancer une balle dans le but adverse.
  8. 8
    Bout recourbé d’un objet.
  9. 9
    Masturbation.
  10. 10
    Fraude, arnaque.
  11. 11
    Querelle, dispute, chicane — (source)
  12. 12
    Avocat du roi — (Vidocq, 1837)
  13. 13
    Meuble représentant dans les armoiries des crosses cléricales. Elle est généralement représentée en pal, l’ouverture du volute à dextre. À rapprocher de bâton de prieur, bâton prieural, bourdon, bourdon de pèlerin et volute de crosse.

Synonyms

bâtoncannehockeylacrosse

This word in other languages

crook(English)báculo(Español)Bischofsstab(Deutsch)báculo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ccrosse,croses,crrosse,crsose,rcosse

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of crosse - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ccrosse1croses2crrosse1crsose2rcosse2
Edit distance from "crosse"

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 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "crosse"?
"crosse" is spelled C-R-O-S-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is \kʁɔs\.
What does "crosse" mean?
As a noun, "crosse" means: Bâton pastoral d’évêque ou d’abbé, dont l’extrémité supérieure se recourbe en volute.
What words are commonly confused with "crosse"?
"crosse" is commonly confused with "CROUS", "cuisse", "croûte". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "crosse"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "crosse" is \kʁɔs\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "crosse" come from?
"crosse" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 “crosse”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is C-R-O-S-S-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \kʁɔs\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “CROUS” - see the side-by-side comparison. crosse vs CROUS
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list