meagre

/ˈmiːɡɚ/

//ˈmiːɡɚ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“meagre” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #34,584. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#34,584
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An edible fish, of species Argyrosomus regius, of the family Sciaenidae, found from the Black Sea to the eastern Atlantic.

Corpus desk

Index EN-meagre · meagre · English

meagre · rank #34,584 · 7 variants · 10 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #34,584
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 10 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH Maximilian

Nearest frequency peer: Maximilian (-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 “meagre”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “meagre” 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).

meagre vs mere
67% similar
meagre vs metre
67% similar
meagre vs merge
67% similar

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

Key facts for meagre
PropertyValue
Headwordmeagre
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmiːɡɚ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#34,584
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “meagre”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).meagrelands 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 “Maximilian” (#34,583), “meditative” (#34,585), “Marston” (#34,582). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “meagre” is #34,584. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around meagre (IPA /ˈmiːɡɚ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #34,584 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Dominant gloss: "An edible fish, of species Argyrosomus regius, of the family Sciaenidae, found from the Black Sea to the eastern Atlantic.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for meagre, with forms such as "emagre", "maegre", and "meaggre". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 10 confusable-pair relationships, "mere", "metre", "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 French maigre. The correct English form is meagre, spelled M-E-A-G-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    An edible fish, of species Argyrosomus regius, of the family Sciaenidae, found from the Black Sea to the eastern Atlantic.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. 1986, A. Wysokiński, The Living Marine Resources of the Southeast Atlantic, FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 178, page 48, Among more valuable species some of them are worth mentioning, especially littoral forms as: meagres and other croakers (Sciaenidae), grunters (Pomadasyidae), threadfins (Polynemidae), groupers (Serranidae), snappers (Lutjanidae) […] .
  2. It is striking that these represent meagres (Argyrosomus regius), a species never mentioned in classical texts.

Etymology

From Middle French maigre.

Synonyms

salmon-basseshadefishstone basse

This word in other languages

corvina(Español)maigre(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • emagre
  • maegre
  • meaggre
  • meagrre
  • mearge
  • megare
  • mmeagre

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of meagre - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

emagre2maegre2meaggre1meagrre1mearge2megare2mmeagre1
Edit distance from "meagre"

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 "meagre"?
"meagre" is spelled M-E-A-G-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmiːɡɚ/.
What does "meagre" mean?
As a noun, "meagre" means: An edible fish, of species Argyrosomus regius, of the family Sciaenidae, found from the Black Sea to the eastern Atlantic.
What words are commonly confused with "meagre"?
"meagre" is commonly confused with "mere", "metre", "merge". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "meagre"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "meagre" is /ˈmiːɡɚ/. 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 "meagre"?
From Middle French maigre. 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 "meagre", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Marlow#34,581Merced#34,588lookup#34,576mildew#34,592

Similar misspelling depth

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

Mehdi7 variantslupin7 variantsmufti7 variantsleary7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list