Maccabees

/ˈmækəbiːz/

//ˈmækəbiːz// name

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

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

The verdict

“Maccabees” is uncommon English (frequency #61,605 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#61,605
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - One of two books of the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox canon of the Old Testament, considered apocryphal by Protestants.

Corpus desk

Index EN-maccabees · Maccabees · English

Maccabees · rank #61,605 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #61,605
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH Lublin

Nearest frequency peer: Lublin (-3 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.

Long-tail ranks near “Maccabees”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “Maccabees” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Maccabees
PropertyValue
HeadwordMaccabees
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˈmækəbiːz/
Letters9
Frequency rank#61,605
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “Maccabees” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).Maccabeesfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Lublin” (#61,602), “magnetosphere” (#61,608), “lovesick” (#61,601). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “Maccabees” is #61,605. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Maccabees is uncommon English at frequency #61,605 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as aproper noun, transcribed /ˈmækəbiːz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for Maccabees, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct English form is Maccabees, spelled M-A-C-C-A-B-E-E-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    One of two books of the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox canon of the Old Testament, considered apocryphal by Protestants.
  2. 2
    A Jewish liberation movement who fought for, and established, independence in the Land of Israel during the second and first centuries BCE.

This word in other languages

Macabeos(Español)Maccabées(Français)

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 "Maccabees"?
"Maccabees" is spelled M-A-C-C-A-B-E-E-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmækəbiːz/.
What does "Maccabees" mean?
As a proper noun, "Maccabees" means: One of two books of the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox canon of the Old Testament, considered apocryphal by Protestants.
How do you pronounce "Maccabees"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Maccabees" is /ˈmækəbiːz/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Maccabees" come from?
"Maccabees" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 "Maccabees", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

longboard#61,599mainstage#61,611Martineau#61,621learnings#61,586

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list