master

/ˈmɑːs.tə/

//ˈmɑːs.tə// noun

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

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

The verdict

“master” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,250. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,250
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Someone who has control over something or someone.

Corpus desk

Index EN-master · master · English

master · rank #1,250 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,250
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH independent

Nearest frequency peer: independent (-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 “master”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “master” 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).

master vs mate
67% similar
master vs meter
67% similar
master vs mates
67% similar

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

Key facts for master
PropertyValue
Headwordmaster
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmɑːs.tə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#1,250
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “master”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).masterlands 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 “independent” (#1,249), “none” (#1,251), “direction” (#1,248). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “master” is #1,250. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around master (IPA /ˈmɑːs.tə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,250 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 21 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for master, with forms such as "amster", "masetr", and "masster". 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, "mate", "meter", "mates", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English maister, mayster, meister (noun) and maistren (verb), from Old English mǣster, mæġster, mæġester, mæġister, magister (“master”), from Latin magister (“chief, teacher, leader”), from Old Latin magester, from Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s (a… The correct English form is master, spelled M-A-S-T-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Someone who has control over something or someone.
  2. 2
    The owner of an animal or slave.
  3. 3
    The captain of a merchant ship; a master mariner.
  4. 4
    A male head of household.
  5. 5
    Someone who employs others.
  6. 6
    An expert at something.
  7. 7
    A tradesman who is qualified to teach apprentices.
  8. 8
    A male schoolteacher.
  9. 9
    A skilled artist.
  10. 10
    A man or a boy; mister. See Master.
  11. 11
    A master's degree; a type of postgraduate degree, usually undertaken after a bachelor degree.
  12. 12
    A person holding such a degree.
  13. 13
    The original of a document or of a recording.
  14. 14
    The copyright in a sound recording.
  15. 15
    The primary wide shot of a scene, into which the closeups will be edited later.
  16. 16
    A parajudicial officer (such as a referee, an auditor, an examiner, or an assessor) specially appointed to help a court with its proceedings.
  17. 17
    A device that is controlling other devices or is an authoritative source.
  18. 18
    A person holding an office of authority, especially the presiding officer.
  19. 19
    A person holding a similar office in other civic societies.
  20. 20
    Ellipsis of master key.
  21. 21
    A male dominant.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. We are masters of the sea.
  2. Maſters commands come with a power reſiſtleſs / To ſuch as owe them abſolute ſubjection; / And for a life who will not change his purpoſe? / (So mutable are all the ways of men) / Yet this be ſure, in nothing to comply / Scandalous or forbidden in our Law.

Etymology

From Middle English maister, mayster, meister (noun) and maistren (verb), from Old English mǣster, mæġster, mæġester, mæġister, magister (“master”), from Latin magister (“chief, teacher, leader”), from Old Latin magester, from Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s (as in magnus (“great”), also cognate of English much and mickle) + -ester/-ister (compare minister (“servant”)). Reinforced by Old French maistre, mestre (noun) and maistriier, maister (verb) from the same Latin source. Compare also Saterland Frisian Mäster (“master”), West Frisian master (“master”), Dutch meester (“master”), German Meister (“master”). Doublet of maestro, magister, and meister.

This word in other languages

amo(Español)maître(Français)Meister(Deutsch)mestre(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • amster
  • masetr
  • masster
  • masterr
  • mastre
  • mastter
  • matser
  • mmaster
  • msater

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

amster2masetr2masster1masterr1mastre2mastter1matser2mmaster1
Edit distance from "master"

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 "master"?
"master" is spelled M-A-S-T-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmɑːs.tə/.
What does "master" mean?
As a noun, "master" means: Someone who has control over something or someone.
What words are commonly confused with "master"?
"master" is commonly confused with "mate", "meter", "mates". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "master"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "master" is /ˈmɑːs.tə/. 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 "master"?
From Middle English maister, mayster, meister (noun) and maistren (verb), from Old English mǣster, mæġster, mæġester, mæġister, magister (“master”), from Latin magister (“chief, teacher, leader”), from Old Latin magester, from Proto-Indo-European ... 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 "master", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Russia#1,253cancer#1,244wonder#1,258Africa#1,260

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

biggest9 variantsawesome9 variantsstupid9 variantsopinion9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list