major
/ˈmeɪ.d͡ʒə(ɹ)/
"major" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“major” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #504 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #504
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Greater in dignity, rank, importance, significance, or interest.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | major |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈmeɪ.d͡ʒə(ɹ)/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #504 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “major” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for major is 5 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈmeɪ.d͡ʒə(ɹ)/. Corpus data places it at rank #504 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 15 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for major, with forms such as "amjor", "majjor", and "majorr". 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, "mar", "mao", "MOR", 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 *méǵh₂s Proto-Indo-European *-yōs Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂yōs Proto-Italic *magjōs Latin maiorder. Middle English major English major From Middle English major, from Latin maior, comparative of magnus (“great, large; nob… The correct English form is major, spelled M-A-J-O-R.
Definition
- 1Greater in dignity, rank, importance, significance, or interest.
- 2Greater in number, quantity, or extent.
- 3Notable or conspicuous in effect or scope.
- 4Prominent or significant in size, amount, or degree.
- 5Involving great risk, serious, life-threatening.
- 6Of full legal age, having attained majority.
- 7Of or relating to a subject of academic study chosen as a field of specialization.
- 8Having intervals of a semitone between the third and fourth, and seventh and eighth degrees. (of a scale)
- 9Equivalent to that between the tonic and another note of a major scale, and greater by a semitone than the corresponding minor interval. (of an interval)
- 10Equivalent to that between the tonic and another note of a major scale, and greater by a semitone than the corresponding minor interval. (of an interval)
- 11(of a key) Based on a major scale, tending to produce a bright or joyful effect.
- 12Bell changes rung on eight bells.
- 13Indicating the elder of two brothers (or the eldest of three), appended to a surname in public schools.
- 14Occurring as the predicate in the conclusion of a categorical syllogism. (of a term)
- 15Containing the major term in a categorical syllogism. (of a premise)
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s Proto-Indo-European *-yōs Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂yōs Proto-Italic *magjōs Latin maiorder. Middle English major English major From Middle English major, from Latin maior, comparative of magnus (“great, large; noble, important”), from Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂yōs (“greater”), comparative of *meǵh₂- (“great”). Compare West Frisian majoar (“major”), Dutch majoor (“major”), French majeur. Doublet of mayor. Noun sense 1 is a shortening of sergeant major, perhaps after Spanish mayor in the same sense.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: amjor,majjor,majorr,majro,maojr,mjaor,mmajor
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of major - 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.
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
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Using “major”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-A-J-O-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈmeɪ.d͡ʒə(ɹ)/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “mar” - see the side-by-side comparison. major vs mar
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.