matrix
/ˈmeɪ.tɹɪks/noun
matrix is spelled M-A-T-R-I-X. The wrong spelling people search most is matris: about 190 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 147 of all searches for the word. Matrix is a noun meaning “The cavity or mold in which anything is formed”. The plural of matrix is matrices or matrixes.
How many letters and syllables are in matrix?
| Letters | 6: M-A-T-R-I-X |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 12 times per million words; the 6,347th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, matris, about 190 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell matrix?
Matrix is spelled M-A-T-R-I-X. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 148 of the searches for matrix in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is matrix?
Matrix appears 12 times per million words in written English, the 6,347th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce matrix?
- /ˈmeɪ.tɹɪks/
- /ˈmæt.ɹɪks/
- Australia /ˈmæɪ.tɹɪks/
Matrix has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-matrix.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of matrix
- matrices plural
- matrixes plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does matrix mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The cavity or mold in which anything is formed.
- 2
archaicThe womb.
- 3
The metaphorical place where something is made, formed, or given birth.
- 4
The material or tissue in which more specialized structures are embedded.
- 5
An extracellular matrix, the material or tissue between the cells of animals or plants.
- 6
Part of the mitochondrion.
- 7
The medium in which bacteria are cultured.
- 8
A table of data.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate matrix?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of matrix: mat.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Matrix in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | matriz |
| French | matrice |
| Portuguese | matriz , matriz mitocondrial |
| German | Matrix , Matrize |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does matrix come from?
From Middle English matris, matrice, matrix, from Old French matrice (“pregnant animal”), or from Latin mātrīx (“dam, womb”), both ultimately from māter (“mother”). Doublet of mother from Indo-European ancestor. Slang usage coined with the 1999 sci-fi action film The Matrix.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).