matte
/mæt/
"matte" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“matte” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #14,585 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #14,585
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 4
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A decorative border around a picture used to inset and center the contents of a frame.
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 | matte |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /mæt/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #14,585 |
| Misspellings tracked | 4 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “matte” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for matte is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /mæt/. Corpus data places it at rank #14,585 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 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for matte, with forms such as "amtte", "matet", and "mmatte". 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, "mute", "maze", "mitt", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French mat. The correct English form is matte, spelled M-A-T-T-E.
Definition
- 1A decorative border around a picture used to inset and center the contents of a frame.
- 2A background, often painted or created with computers
- 3The molten metal sulfide phases typically formed during smelting of copper, nickel, and other base metals.
- 4An instrument for producing a dull, lustreless surface.
Etymology
Borrowed from French mat.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: amtte,matet,mmatte,mtate
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of matte - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "matte"?
What does "matte" mean?
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Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “matte”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-A-T-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /mæt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “mute” - see the side-by-side comparison. matte vs mute
- 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.