madhouse

/ˈmædˌhaʊs/

//ˈmædˌhaʊs// noun

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

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

The verdict

“madhouse” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #42,251. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#42,251
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
11
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A house where insane persons are confined; an insane asylum.

Corpus desk

Index EN-madhouse · madhouse · English

madhouse · rank #42,251 · 11 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #42,251
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH macular

Nearest frequency peer: macular (-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 “madhouse”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “madhouse” 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
Key facts for madhouse
PropertyValue
Headwordmadhouse
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmædˌhaʊs/
Letters8
Frequency rank#42,251
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “madhouse”

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).madhouselands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “macular” (#42,250), “Madigan” (#42,252), “maelstrom” (#42,253). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “madhouse” is #42,251. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around madhouse (IPA /ˈmædˌhaʊs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #42,251 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for madhouse, with forms such as "amdhouse", "maddhouse", and "madhhouse". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From mad + house. The correct English form is madhouse, spelled M-A-D-H-O-U-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A house where insane persons are confined; an insane asylum.
  2. 2
    A chaotic, uproarious, noisy place.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The palace, the night-cellar, the jail, the madhouse: the chambers of birth and death, of health and sickness, the rigid face of the corpse and the calm sleep of the child: midnight was upon them all.
  2. The king experienced his first attack in autumn 1788, and as his condition worsened and the physicians-in-ordinary proved unable to cope or cure, the Reverend Dr Francis Willis (1717–1807), a clergyman doctor who ran a madhouse in Lincolnshire, was called in.

Etymology

From mad + house.

This word in other languages

manicomio(Español)Irrenhaus(Deutsch)manicómio(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • amdhouse
  • maddhouse
  • madhhouse
  • madhosue
  • madhoues
  • madhousse
  • madhuose
  • madohuse
  • mahdouse
  • mdahouse
  • mmadhouse

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of madhouse - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

amdhouse2maddhouse1madhhouse1madhosue2madhoues2madhousse1madhuose2madohuse2
Edit distance from "madhouse"

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 "madhouse"?
"madhouse" is spelled M-A-D-H-O-U-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmædˌhaʊs/.
What does "madhouse" mean?
As a noun, "madhouse" means: A house where insane persons are confined; an insane asylum.
What are common misspellings of "madhouse"?
Common misspellings include "amdhouse", "maddhouse", "madhhouse", "madhosue", "madhoues". The correct spelling is "madhouse".
How do you pronounce "madhouse"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "madhouse" is /ˈmædˌhaʊs/. 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 "madhouse"?
From mad + house. 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 "madhouse", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

littoral#42,245Marianna#42,258lethargy#42,236lakeview#42,230

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

Lindley11 variantsKlamath11 variantsmonorail11 variantsintifada11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list