malt

/mɒlt/

//mɒlt// noun

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

"malt" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“malt” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #16,964 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#16,964
frequency rank, English
4
letters
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Malted grain (sprouted grain) (usually barley), used in brewing and otherwise.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

malt vs MT
0% similar
malt vs ML
0% similar
malt vs may
50% similar

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

Key facts for malt
PropertyValue
Headwordmalt
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/mɒlt/
Letters4
Frequency rank#16,964
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “malt” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). malt lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for malt is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /mɒlt/. Corpus data places it at rank #16,964 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for malt, with forms such as "amlt", "mallt", and "maltt". 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. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "MT", "ML", "may", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English malt, from Old English mealt, from Proto-West Germanic *malt, from Proto-Germanic *maltą (“malt”), from *maltaz (“soft; nesh; weak; squashy; melting”), from Proto-Indo-European *meld-, *mled- (“to crush; grind; make weak”). Cognate with … The correct English form is malt, spelled M-A-L-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Malted grain (sprouted grain) (usually barley), used in brewing and otherwise.
  2. 2
    Malt liquor, especially malt whisky.
  3. 3
    A milkshake with malted milk powder added for flavor.
  4. 4
    Maltose-rich sugar derived from malted grain.

Etymology

From Middle English malt, from Old English mealt, from Proto-West Germanic *malt, from Proto-Germanic *maltą (“malt”), from *maltaz (“soft; nesh; weak; squashy; melting”), from Proto-Indo-European *meld-, *mled- (“to crush; grind; make weak”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Moalt (“malt”), Dutch mout (“malt”), German Malz (“malt”), Swedish malt (“malt”), Old Church Slavonic младъ (mladŭ, “tender; young”), Russian молодой (molodoj, “young; fresh; new”). The Proto-Germanic noun was borrowed into Proto-Slavic as *malta; compare Ukrainian мо́лот (mólot), Czech mláto. More at melt.

This word in other languages

malta(Español)malt(Français)Malz(Deutsch)malte(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: amlt,mallt,maltt,matl,mlat,mmalt

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

amlt2mallt1maltt1matl2mlat2mmalt1
Edit distance from "malt"

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 "malt"?
"malt" is spelled M-A-L-T. The IPA pronunciation is /mɒlt/.
What does "malt" mean?
As a noun, "malt" means: Malted grain (sprouted grain) (usually barley), used in brewing and otherwise.
What words are commonly confused with "malt"?
"malt" is commonly confused with "MT", "ML", "may". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "malt"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "malt" is /mɒlt/. 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 "malt"?
From Middle English malt, from Old English mealt, from Proto-West Germanic *malt, from Proto-Germanic *maltą (“malt”), from *maltaz (“soft; nesh; weak; squashy; melting”), from Proto-Indo-European *meld-, *mled- (“to crush; grind; make weak”). Cog... 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.

Using “malt”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is M-A-L-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /mɒlt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “MT” - see the side-by-side comparison. malt vs MT
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list