machismo

/mɑːˈt͡ʃiz.moʊ/

//mɑːˈt͡ʃiz.moʊ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“machismo” is uncommon English (frequency #53,675 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#53,675
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An excessive masculine pride.

Corpus desk

Index EN-machismo · machismo · English

machismo · rank #53,675 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #53,675
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH Mahabharata

Nearest frequency peer: Mahabharata (+1 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 “machismo”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for machismo
PropertyValue
Headwordmachismo
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/mɑːˈt͡ʃiz.moʊ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#53,675
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “machismo” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).machismofalls 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: “Mahabharata” (#53,676), “Ludo” (#53,671), “mammogram” (#53,679). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “machismo” is #53,675. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

machismo is uncommon English at frequency #53,675 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /mɑːˈt͡ʃiz.moʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for machismo in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: First attested 1940, from American Spanish machismo, from Spanish macho (“male”), + suffix -ismo (“-ism”). The correct English form is machismo, spelled M-A-C-H-I-S-M-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    An excessive masculine pride.
  2. 2
    exaggerated masculinity
  3. 3
    characteristic, behavior or particularity of Male; Macheza.
  4. 4
    male chauvinism, misogyny

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how machismo appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. September 1971, Germaine Greer, "My Mailer Problem", in Esquire The tragedy of machismo is that a man is never quite man enough.
  2. PSP [Puerto Rican Socialist Party] spokesperson Victor Lopez-Tosado told GCN: "[…] The party is mainly organized in a Latin American country where oppression, as a result of machismo, etc., to homosexuals is very common."

Etymology

First attested 1940, from American Spanish machismo, from Spanish macho (“male”), + suffix -ismo (“-ism”).

Synonyms

machoismmachoness

This word in other languages

machismo(Español)machisme(Français)Machismo(Deutsch)

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 "machismo"?
"machismo" is spelled M-A-C-H-I-S-M-O. The IPA pronunciation is /mɑːˈt͡ʃiz.moʊ/.
What does "machismo" mean?
As a noun, "machismo" means: An excessive masculine pride.
How do you pronounce "machismo"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "machismo" is /mɑːˈt͡ʃiz.moʊ/. 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 "machismo"?
First attested 1940, from American Spanish machismo, from Spanish macho (“male”), + suffix -ismo (“-ism”). 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "machismo", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

McLellan#53,691Lefebvre#53,655knockoff#53,650Katowice#53,642

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list