maw

/mɔː/

//mɔː// noun

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

"maw" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“maw” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #30,495 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#30,495
frequency rank, English
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The stomach, especially of an animal.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

maw vs my
33% similar
maw vs ME
0% similar
maw vs Mr
0% similar

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

Key facts for maw
PropertyValue
Headwordmaw
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/mɔː/
Letters3
Frequency rank#30,495
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “maw” 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). maw 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 maw is 3 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /mɔː/. Corpus data places it at rank #30,495 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

maw has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "my", "ME", "Mr", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English mawe, maghe, maȝe, from Old English maga (“stomach; maw”), from Proto-West Germanic *magō, from Proto-Germanic *magô (“belly; stomach”), from Proto-Indo-European *mak-, *maks- (“bag, bellows, belly”). Cognates Cognate with West Frisian m… The correct English form is maw, spelled M-A-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    The stomach, especially of an animal.
  2. 2
    The upper digestive tract (where food enters the body), especially the mouth and jaws of a fearsome and ravenous creature; craw.
  3. 3
    The mouth.
  4. 4
    Any large, insatiable or perilous opening.
  5. 5
    Appetite; inclination.
  6. 6
    The swim bladder of a fish, especially when used as food in Chinese cuisine.

Etymology

From Middle English mawe, maghe, maȝe, from Old English maga (“stomach; maw”), from Proto-West Germanic *magō, from Proto-Germanic *magô (“belly; stomach”), from Proto-Indo-European *mak-, *maks- (“bag, bellows, belly”). Cognates Cognate with West Frisian mage, Dutch maag (“stomach; belly”), German Low German Maag, German Magen (“stomach”), Danish mave, Norwegian mage (“stomach”), Swedish mage (“stomach; belly”), and also with Welsh megin (“bellows”), archaic Russian мошна́ (mošná, “pocket, bag”), Lithuanian mãkas (“purse”), Finnish maha (“stomach”), Estonian magu (“stomach”).

This word in other languages

estómago(Español)gueule(Français)Magen(Deutsch)estômago(Português)

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 "maw"?
"maw" is spelled M-A-W. The IPA pronunciation is /mɔː/.
What does "maw" mean?
As a noun, "maw" means: The stomach, especially of an animal.
What words are commonly confused with "maw"?
"maw" is commonly confused with "my", "ME", "Mr". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "maw"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "maw" is /mɔː/. 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 "maw"?
From Middle English mawe, maghe, maȝe, from Old English maga (“stomach; maw”), from Proto-West Germanic *magō, from Proto-Germanic *magô (“belly; stomach”), from Proto-Indo-European *mak-, *maks- (“bag, bellows, belly”). Cognates Cognate with West... 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 “maw”

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

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