Mac or mack?
mac is a noun meaning “A person of Scottish descent (used in driving culture to denigrate someone for…”; mack is a noun meaning “An individual skilled in the art of seduction using verbal skills; a seducer”. They sound the same (/mæk/). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) mac is about 5.6 times as common as mack.
What is the difference between mac and mack?
| mac | mack | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, prefix | noun, verb |
| Meaning | USinformalUsed to address a man whose name is unknown A Macintosh computer (made by Apple Inc.) A patronymic used to form common Irish and Scottish names, similar to the English -son | UKA raincoat or mackintosh An element of a ship's superstructure which places the function of a ship's mast on its exhaust stack, adding the skeletal supporting structure to the… |
| Example | Is there any mac and cheese left? | She left with him; he must be a true mack |
| Forms | macs | macks |
| Pronunciation | /mæk/ /mək/ | /mæk/ |
| In writing | 28 times per million words | 5.0 times per million words |
Sources: mac and mack in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of mac and mack
mac
- 1
Clipping of mackintosh (“a raincoat”)
- 2
CanadaUSslangClipping of macaroni
Is there any mac and cheese left?
- 3
USinformalUsed to address a man whose name is unknown
Have you got a light, Mac?
- 4
A Macintosh computer (made by Apple Inc.)
- 5
Initialism of maximum allowable concentration, the maximum concentration of a pollutant which is considered harmless to healthy adults during their working hours, assuming they breathe uncontaminated…
- 6
A patronymic used to form common Irish and Scottish names, similar to the English -son
- 7
AustraliaCanadaUKUSderogatoryoffensiveslangA person of Scottish descent (used in driving culture to denigrate someone for poor/slow/amateurish driving responses)
- 8
Initialism of mandatory access control
mack
- 1
Ellipsis of Mack truck
- 2
slangAn individual skilled in the art of seduction using verbal skills; a seducer
She left with him; he must be a true mack
- 3
slangTo act as pimp; to pander
- 4
slangA (pouch or unit of) mackerel, used as food and currency in prison
- 5
UKA raincoat or mackintosh
- 6
An element of a ship's superstructure which places the function of a ship's mast on its exhaust stack, adding the skeletal supporting structure to the smokestack to support the mast's complement of…
- 7
slangA pimp or procurer
- 8
slangTo seduce or flirt with
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, mac or mack?
mac appears 28 times per million words; mack 5.0 times per million words.
mac 28 times per million wordsmack 5.0 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).