mainspring
"mainspring" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“mainspring” is uncommon English (frequency #99,528 among 36,575 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #99,528
- frequency rank, English
- 36,575
- “M” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The principal spring of a clockwork mechanism, which drives it by uncoiling.
Corpus desk
Index EN-mainspring · mainspring · English
mainspring · rank #99,528 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #99,528
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 36,575
- PHOTO-FINISH Malouf
Nearest frequency peer: Malouf (+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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “mainspring”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- lycanthropy
lycanthropy
481 corpus weight
- Lyng
Lyng
480 corpus weight
- mainspring
mainspring
473 corpus weight
- Malouf
Malouf
471 corpus weight
- Mamluk
Mamluk
470 corpus weight
- masterman
masterman
462 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “mainspring” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | mainspring |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #99,528 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “mainspring” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
mainspring is uncommon English at frequency #99,528 among 36,575 “M” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
mainspring has no tracked misspelling variants, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From main + spring. For figurative sense, compare spring (“source, origin”). The correct English form is mainspring, spelled M-A-I-N-S-P-R-I-N-G.
Definition
- 1The principal spring of a clockwork mechanism, which drives it by uncoiling.
- 2The most important reason for, or element of, something.
Etymology
From main + spring. For figurative sense, compare spring (“source, origin”).
This word in other languages
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "mainspring"?
What does "mainspring" mean?
What is the origin of the word "mainspring"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "mainspring", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.