mammal

/ˈmæməl/

//ˈmæməl// noun

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

"mammal" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“mammal” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #19,386. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#19,386
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
11
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An animal of the class Mammalia.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mammal · mammal · English

mammal · rank #19,386 · 7 variants · 11 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #19,386
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 11 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH mailbox

Nearest frequency peer: mailbox (-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 “mammal”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “mammal” 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).

mammal vs momma
67% similar
mammal vs mammy
67% similar
mammal vs manual
67% similar

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

Key facts for mammal
PropertyValue
Headwordmammal
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmæməl/
Letters6
Frequency rank#19,386
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs11
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “mammal”

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).mammallands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “mailbox” (#19,385), “McGuire” (#19,387), “luncheon” (#19,384). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “mammal” is #19,386. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around mammal (IPA /ˈmæməl/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #19,386 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for mammal, with forms such as "ammmal", "mamal", and "mamaml". 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 11 confusable-pair relationships, "momma", "mammy", "manual", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Modern Latin Mammalia, coined 1758 by Linnaeus for the class of mammals, from neuter plural of Late Latin mammalis (“of the breast”), from Latin mamma (“breast”), perhaps cognate with mamma (mother). The correct English form is mammal, spelled M-A-M-M-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    An animal of the class Mammalia.
  2. 2
    An animal of the class Mammalia.

Etymology

From Modern Latin Mammalia, coined 1758 by Linnaeus for the class of mammals, from neuter plural of Late Latin mammalis (“of the breast”), from Latin mamma (“breast”), perhaps cognate with mamma (mother).

Synonyms

mammalmammalian

This word in other languages

mamífero(Español)mammifère(Français)Säugetier(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ammmal
  • mamal
  • mamaml
  • mammall
  • mammla
  • mmamal
  • mmammal

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of mammal - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ammmal2mamal1mamaml2mammall1mammla2mmamal2mmammal1
Edit distance from "mammal"

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 "mammal"?
"mammal" is spelled M-A-M-M-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmæməl/.
What does "mammal" mean?
As a noun, "mammal" means: An animal of the class Mammalia.
What words are commonly confused with "mammal"?
"mammal" is commonly confused with "momma", "mammy", "manual". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "mammal"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mammal" is /ˈmæməl/. 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 "mammal"?
From Modern Latin Mammalia, coined 1758 by Linnaeus for the class of mammals, from neuter plural of Late Latin mammalis (“of the breast”), from Latin mamma (“breast”), perhaps cognate with mamma (mother). 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 "mammal", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

linger#19,382muzzle#19,396indigo#19,366Gunner#19,354

Similar misspelling depth

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

lousy7 variantslimbo7 variantskyrie7 variantsOrtiz7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list