madam

/ˈmæd.əm/

//ˈmæd.əm// noun

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

"madam" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“madam” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,192. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,192
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A polite form of address for a woman or lady.

Corpus desk

Index EN-madam · madam · English

madam · rank #13,192 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #13,192
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH Mackenzie

Nearest frequency peer: Mackenzie (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “madam”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “madam” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

madam vs mam
60% similar
madam vs MDA
0% similar
madam vs made
60% similar

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

Key facts for madam
PropertyValue
Headwordmadam
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmæd.əm/
Letters5
Frequency rank#13,192
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “madam”

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).madamlands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Mackenzie” (#13,191), “marital” (#13,193), “Lydia” (#13,190). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “madam” is #13,192. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around madam (IPA /ˈmæd.əm/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #13,192 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for madam, with forms such as "amdam", "maadm", and "madamm". 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, "mam", "MDA", "made", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English madame, from Old French madame, from ma (“my”) + dame (“lady”), from post-classical Latin mea domina. Doublet of Madonna. The correct English form is madam, spelled M-A-D-A-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    A polite form of address for a woman or lady.
  2. 2
    The mistress of a household.
  3. 3
    A conceited or quarrelsome girl.
  4. 4
    A woman who runs a brothel, particularly one that specializes in finding prostitutes for rich and important clients.
  5. 5
    A hated or contemptuous woman; used as a general term of abuse

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Mrs Grey wondered if the outfit she was trying on made her look fat. The sales assistant just said, “It suits you, madam”.
  2. Later, Mrs Grey was sitting in her favourite tea shop. “Would madam like the usual cream cakes and patisserie with her tea?” the waitress asked.

Etymology

From Middle English madame, from Old French madame, from ma (“my”) + dame (“lady”), from post-classical Latin mea domina. Doublet of Madonna.

This word in other languages

señora(Español)madame(Français)Frau(Deutsch)senhora(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • amdam
  • maadm
  • madamm
  • maddam
  • madma
  • mdaam
  • mmadam

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of madam - 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.

amdam2maadm2madamm1maddam1madma2mdaam2mmadam1
Edit distance from "madam"

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 "madam"?
"madam" is spelled M-A-D-A-M. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmæd.əm/.
What does "madam" mean?
As a noun, "madam" means: A polite form of address for a woman or lady.
What words are commonly confused with "madam"?
"madam" is commonly confused with "mam", "MDA", "made". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "madam"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "madam" is /ˈmæd.əm/. 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 "madam"?
From Middle English madame, from Old French madame, from ma (“my”) + dame (“lady”), from post-classical Latin mea domina. Doublet of Madonna. 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 "madam", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Lydia#13,190Mayer#13,194nanny#13,200piles#13,213

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

raced7 variantsfixes7 variantsSteele7 variantsbooty7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list