mailman

/ˈmeɪl.mæn/

//ˈmeɪl.mæn// noun

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

"mailman" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“mailman” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #33,724. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#33,724
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Someone who delivers mail to, and/or collects mail from, residential or commercial addresses, or from public mailboxes.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mailman · mailman · English

mailman · rank #33,724 · 10 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #33,724
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH manus

Nearest frequency peer: manus (+2 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 “mailman”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “mailman” 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).

mailman vs Milan
57% similar
mailman vs Malian
57% similar
mailman vs madman
71% similar

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

Key facts for mailman
PropertyValue
Headwordmailman
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmeɪl.mæn/
Letters7
Frequency rank#33,724
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “mailman”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).mailmanlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “manus” (#33,726), “Lupe” (#33,720), “marksman” (#33,728). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “mailman” is #33,724. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around mailman (IPA /ˈmeɪl.mæn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #33,724 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Someone who delivers mail to, and/or collects mail from, residential or commercial addresses, or from public mailboxes.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for mailman, with forms such as "amilman", "mailamn", and "maillman". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "Milan", "Malian", "madman", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From mail + man. The correct English form is mailman, spelled M-A-I-L-M-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Someone who delivers mail to, and/or collects mail from, residential or commercial addresses, or from public mailboxes.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. "What I'm thinking," she said, "is that I'll become a mailman. They're hiring women mailmen now, you know. […]"

Etymology

From mail + man.

Synonyms

letter carriermail carriermailpersonpostal carrierpostiepostmanpostperson

This word in other languages

cartero(Español)facteur(Français)Briefträger(Deutsch)carteiro(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • amilman
  • mailamn
  • maillman
  • mailmann
  • mailmman
  • mailmna
  • maimlan
  • maliman
  • mialman
  • mmailman

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

amilman2mailamn2maillman1mailmann1mailmman1mailmna2maimlan2maliman2
Edit distance from "mailman"

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 "mailman"?
"mailman" is spelled M-A-I-L-M-A-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmeɪl.mæn/.
What does "mailman" mean?
As a noun, "mailman" means: Someone who delivers mail to, and/or collects mail from, residential or commercial addresses, or from public mailboxes.
What words are commonly confused with "mailman"?
"mailman" is commonly confused with "Milan", "Malian", "madman". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "mailman"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mailman" is /ˈmeɪl.mæn/. 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 "mailman"?
From mail + man. 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 "mailman", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Kubrick#33,706Mittens#33,743Montoya#33,745Janelle#33,693

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

Jamison10 variantsinroads10 variantsOdysseus10 variantsomitting10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list