mesh

/mɛʃ/

//mɛʃ// noun

"mesh" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“mesh” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #10,401. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,401
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A structure made of connected strands of metal, fiber, or other flexible/ductile material, with evenly spaced openings between them.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mesh · mesh · English

mesh · rank #10,401 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #10,401
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH merge

Nearest frequency peer: merge (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “mesh”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “mesh” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

mesh vs MS
0% similar
mesh vs MH
0% similar
mesh vs met
50% similar

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

Key facts for mesh
PropertyValue
Headwordmesh
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/mɛʃ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#10,401
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “mesh” sits in English frequency

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).meshlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “merge” (#10,400), “migrant” (#10,402), “mentioning” (#10,399). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around mesh (IPA /mɛʃ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #10,401 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for mesh, with forms such as "emsh", "mehs", and "meshh". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "MS", "MH", "met", 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 mesche, from Old English masc (“net”) (perhaps influenced in form by related Old English mæscre (“mesh, spot”)), from the related Proto-Germanic *maskwǭ and *maskrǭ respectively, from Proto-Indo-European *mezg- (“to knit, twist, plait”).… The correct English form is mesh, spelled M-E-S-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    A structure made of connected strands of metal, fiber, or other flexible/ductile material, with evenly spaced openings between them.
  2. 2
    The opening or space enclosed by the threads of a net between knot and knot, or the threads enclosing such a space.
  3. 3
    The engagement of the teeth of wheels, or of a wheel and rack.
  4. 4
    A measure of fineness (particle size) of ground material. A powder that passes through a sieve having 300 openings per linear inch but does not pass 400 openings per linear inch is said to be -300 +400 mesh.
  5. 5
    A polygon mesh.
  6. 6
    In mesh analysis: a loop in an electric circuit (to which Kirchhoff's voltage law can be applied).
  7. 7
    A network topology with each device connected to multiple other devices in lieu of a central switch. Redundancy on a mesh network prevents single points of failure.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. a golden mesh to entrap the hearts of men

Etymology

From Middle English mesche, from Old English masc (“net”) (perhaps influenced in form by related Old English mæscre (“mesh, spot”)), from the related Proto-Germanic *maskwǭ and *maskrǭ respectively, from Proto-Indo-European *mezg- (“to knit, twist, plait”). Akin to Old High German māsca (“mesh”), Old Saxon maska (“net”), Old Norse mǫskvi, mǫskun (“mesh”).

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • emsh
  • mehs
  • meshh
  • messh
  • mmesh
  • mseh

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of mesh - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

emsh2mehs2meshh1messh1mmesh1mseh2
Edit distance from "mesh"

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 "mesh"?
"mesh" is spelled M-E-S-H. The IPA pronunciation is /mɛʃ/.
What does "mesh" mean?
As a noun, "mesh" means: A structure made of connected strands of metal, fiber, or other flexible/ductile material, with evenly spaced openings between them.
What words are commonly confused with "mesh"?
"mesh" is commonly confused with "MS", "MH", "met". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "mesh"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mesh" is /mɛʃ/. 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 "mesh"?
From Middle English mesche, from Old English masc (“net”) (perhaps influenced in form by related Old English mæscre (“mesh, spot”)), from the related Proto-Germanic *maskwǭ and *maskrǭ respectively, from Proto-Indo-European *mezg- (“to knit, twist... 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 "mesh", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

What to do next

You've looked up "mesh". Here's where to go from here.

  • "mesh" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "MS". View pair
  • 6 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #10,401 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "M" letter cohort. M–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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