mealy

/ˈmiːli/

//ˈmiːli// adj

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

"mealy" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“mealy” is uncommon English (frequency #59,540 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#59,540
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Resembling meal (the foodstuff).

Corpus desk

Index EN-mealy · mealy · English

mealy · rank #59,540 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #59,540
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH McNaughton

Nearest frequency peer: McNaughton (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “mealy”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “mealy” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for mealy
PropertyValue
Headwordmealy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈmiːli/
Letters5
Frequency rank#59,540
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “mealy” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).mealyfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “McNaughton” (#59,539), “meatless” (#59,541), “McCullum” (#59,538). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “mealy” is #59,540. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

mealy is uncommon English at frequency #59,540 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈmiːli/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for mealy, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From meal + -y. The correct English form is mealy, spelled M-E-A-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Resembling meal (the foodstuff).
  2. 2
    Of the pale yellow color of a canary.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Below the hole the mice made in the woodwork was a pile of mealy sawdust.
  2. That it is a cross-breed there can be no doubt, from the fact that after a year or two the brilliant colours, both orange and black, begin to fade—the orange fading into a mealy tint, and the black to a dingy grey.

Etymology

From meal + -y.

This word in other languages

harinoso(Español)farineux(Français)mehlig(Deutsch)farinhento(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 "mealy"?
"mealy" is spelled M-E-A-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmiːli/.
What does "mealy" mean?
As an adjective, "mealy" means: Resembling meal (the foodstuff).
How do you pronounce "mealy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mealy" is /ˈmiːli/. 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 "mealy"?
From meal + -y. 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 "mealy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Madan#59,519mache#59,518Naito#59,570Najaf#59,571

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list