machine
/məˈʃiːn/
"machine" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“machine” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,346 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #1,346
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 11
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A device that directs and controls energy, often in the form of movement or electricity, to produce a certain effect.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | machine |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /məˈʃiːn/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #1,346 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 11 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “machine” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for machine is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /məˈʃiːn/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,346 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 11 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for machine, with forms such as "amchine", "macchine", and "machhine". 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 11 confusable-pair relationships, "Maine", "marine", "Maxine", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French machine, from Latin māchina (“a machine, engine, contrivance, device, stratagem, trick”), from Doric Greek μᾱχᾰνᾱ́ (mākhănā́), cognate with Attic Greek μηχᾰνή (mēkhănḗ, “a machine, engine, contrivance, device”), from which comes … The correct English form is machine, spelled M-A-C-H-I-N-E.
Definition
- 1A device that directs and controls energy, often in the form of movement or electricity, to produce a certain effect.
- 2A vehicle operated mechanically, such as an automobile or an airplane.
- 3An answering machine or, by extension, voice mail.
- 4A computer.
- 5A person or organisation that seemingly acts like a machine, being particularly efficient, single-minded, or unemotional.
- 6Especially, the group that controls a political or similar organization; a combination of persons acting together for a common purpose, with the agencies which they use.
- 7Supernatural agency in a poem, or a superhuman being introduced to perform some exploit.
- 8The system of special interest groups that supports a political party, especially in urban areas.
- 9Penis.
- 10A contrivance in the Ancient Greek theatre for indicating a change of scene, by means of which a god might cross the stage or deliver a divine message; the deus ex machina.
- 11A bathing machine.
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French machine, from Latin māchina (“a machine, engine, contrivance, device, stratagem, trick”), from Doric Greek μᾱχᾰνᾱ́ (mākhănā́), cognate with Attic Greek μηχᾰνή (mēkhănḗ, “a machine, engine, contrivance, device”), from which comes mechanical. Displaced native Old English searu.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: amchine,macchine,machhine,machien,machinne,machnie,macihne,mahcine,mcahine,mmachine
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of machine - 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.
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
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Using “machine”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-A-C-H-I-N-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /məˈʃiːn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Maine” - see the side-by-side comparison. machine vs Maine
- 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.