meager

/ˈmiɡɚ/

//ˈmiɡɚ// adj

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

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

The verdict

“meager” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #27,213. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#27,213
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having little flesh; lean; thin.

Corpus desk

Index EN-meager · meager · English

meager · rank #27,213 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #27,213
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH melodrama

Nearest frequency peer: melodrama (+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 “meager”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “meager” 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).

meager vs meer
67% similar
meager vs meter
67% similar
meager vs merge
67% similar

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

Key facts for meager
PropertyValue
Headwordmeager
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈmiɡɚ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#27,213
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “meager”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).meagerlands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “melodrama” (#27,214), “Maude” (#27,211), “Milly” (#27,215). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “meager” is #27,213. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around meager (IPA /ˈmiɡɚ/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #27,213 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for meager, with forms such as "emager", "maeger", and "meaegr". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "meer", "meter", "merge", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English megre, from Anglo-Norman megre, Old French maigre, from Latin macer, from Proto-Indo-European *mh₂ḱrós. Akin, through the Indo-European root, to Old English mæġer (“meager, lean”), West Frisian meager (“meager”), Dutch mager (“meager”), … The correct English form is meager, spelled M-E-A-G-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having little flesh; lean; thin.
  2. 2
    Poor, deficient or inferior in amount, quality or extent
  3. 3
    Of a set: such that, considered as a subset of a (usually larger) topological space, it is in a precise sense small or negligible.
  4. 4
    Dry and harsh to the touch (e.g., as chalk).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. A meager piece of cake in one bite.
  2. The street outside my window furnishes meager entertainment.

Etymology

From Middle English megre, from Anglo-Norman megre, Old French maigre, from Latin macer, from Proto-Indo-European *mh₂ḱrós. Akin, through the Indo-European root, to Old English mæġer (“meager, lean”), West Frisian meager (“meager”), Dutch mager (“meager”), German mager, Icelandic magr whence the Icelandic magur, Norwegian Bokmål mager and Danish mager. Doublet of maigre.

This word in other languages

magro(Español)maigre(Français)mager(Deutsch)magro(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • emager
  • maeger
  • meaegr
  • meagerr
  • meagger
  • megaer
  • mmeager

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of meager - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

emager2maeger2meaegr2meagerr1meagger1megaer2mmeager1
Edit distance from "meager"

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 "meager"?
"meager" is spelled M-E-A-G-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmiɡɚ/.
What does "meager" mean?
As an adjective, "meager" means: Having little flesh; lean; thin.
What words are commonly confused with "meager"?
"meager" is commonly confused with "meer", "meter", "merge". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "meager"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "meager" is /ˈmiɡɚ/. 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 "meager"?
From Middle English megre, from Anglo-Norman megre, Old French maigre, from Latin macer, from Proto-Indo-European *mh₂ḱrós. Akin, through the Indo-European root, to Old English mæġer (“meager, lean”), West Frisian meager (“meager”), Dutch mager (“... 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 "meager", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

minion#27,217ligand#27,197Keegan#27,190Kareem#27,189

Similar misspelling depth

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

leapt7 variantsKamal7 variantsPrius7 variantsquark7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list