magma

/ˈmæɡ.mə/

//ˈmæɡ.mə// noun

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

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

The verdict

“magma” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #22,735. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#22,735
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 mixture of molten silicate rock, crystals, and gas within the earth, which may be erupted as lava or cool in place to form igneous intrusions.

Corpus desk

Index EN-magma · magma · English

magma · rank #22,735 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #22,735
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH Madeline

Nearest frequency peer: Madeline (-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 “magma”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “magma” 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).

magma vs MMA
0% similar
magma vs MGM
0% similar
magma vs mam
60% similar

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

Key facts for magma
PropertyValue
Headwordmagma
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmæɡ.mə/
Letters5
Frequency rank#22,735
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “magma”

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).magmalands 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 “Madeline” (#22,734), “mammalian” (#22,736), “lumps” (#22,733). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “magma” is #22,735. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around magma (IPA /ˈmæɡ.mə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #22,735 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for magma, with forms such as "amgma", "magam", and "maggma". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "MMA", "MGM", "mam", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *mh₂ǵyéti Ancient Greek μάσσω (mássō) Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Ancient Greek -μα (-ma) Ancient Greek μάγμα (mágma)der. English magma From Ancient Greek μάγμα (mágma, “paste”). The correct English form is magma, spelled M-A-G-M-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    A mixture of molten silicate rock, crystals, and gas within the earth, which may be erupted as lava or cool in place to form igneous intrusions.
  2. 2
    A basic algebraic structure consisting of a set equipped with a single binary operation.
  3. 3
    Any soft doughy mass.
  4. 4
    The residuum after expressing the juice from fruits.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. By the pathside, there are occasional large boulders that shown black crystals the size of a fingernail; these are pyroxene minerals that had time to crystallise out deep within the chamber of liquid rock – or magma – beneath the volcano.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *mh₂ǵyéti Ancient Greek μάσσω (mássō) Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Ancient Greek -μα (-ma) Ancient Greek μάγμα (mágma)der. English magma From Ancient Greek μάγμα (mágma, “paste”).

This word in other languages

magma(Español)magma(Français)Magma(Deutsch)lava(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • amgma
  • magam
  • maggma
  • magmma
  • mamga
  • mgama
  • mmagma

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of magma - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

amgma2magam2maggma1magmma1mamga2mgama2mmagma1
Edit distance from "magma"

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 "magma"?
"magma" is spelled M-A-G-M-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmæɡ.mə/.
What does "magma" mean?
As a noun, "magma" means: A mixture of molten silicate rock, crystals, and gas within the earth, which may be erupted as lava or cool in place to form igneous intrusions.
What words are commonly confused with "magma"?
"magma" is commonly confused with "MMA", "MGM", "mam". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "magma"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "magma" is /ˈmæɡ.mə/. 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 "magma"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *mh₂ǵyéti Ancient Greek μάσσω (mássō) Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Ancient Greek -μα (-ma) Ancient Greek μάγμα (mágma)der. English magma From Ancient Greek μάγμα (mágma, “paste”). 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 "magma", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

lumps#22,733livin#22,729lemme#22,723nutty#22,752

Similar misspelling depth

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

Josef7 variantsOgden7 variantsiodine7 variantsplume7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list