mews

/mjuːz/

//mjuːz// noun

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

The verdict

“mews” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #43,263. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#43,263
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An alley where there are stables; a narrow passage; a confined place.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mews · mews · English

mews · rank #43,263 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #43,263
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH metamorphic

Nearest frequency peer: metamorphic (-2 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 “mews”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “mews” 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).

mews vs MS
0% similar
mews vs MW
0% similar
mews vs Mrs
25% similar

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

Key facts for mews
PropertyValue
Headwordmews
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/mjuːz/
Letters4
Frequency rank#43,263
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “mews”

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).mewslands 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 “metamorphic” (#43,261), “Mervyn” (#43,260), “mongoose” (#43,266). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “mews” is #43,263. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around mews (IPA /mjuːz/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #43,263 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for mews, with forms such as "emws", "mesw", and "mewss". 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", "MW", "Mrs", 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 Mewes, the name of the royal stables at Charing Cross, which is the plural of mew (“falcon cage”). The correct English form is mews, spelled M-E-W-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    An alley where there are stables; a narrow passage; a confined place.
  2. 2
    A place where birds of prey are housed.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. What penned them there, with all the plain to choose? No foot-print leading to that horrid mews, None out of it.
  2. It was healthy and magnificient because one room, above a mews, somewhere near the river, contained fifty excited, talkative, friendly people.

Etymology

From Mewes, the name of the royal stables at Charing Cross, which is the plural of mew (“falcon cage”).

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • emws
  • mesw
  • mewss
  • mewws
  • mmews
  • mwes

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of mews - 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.

emws2mesw2mewss1mewws1mmews1mwes2
Edit distance from "mews"

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 "mews"?
"mews" is spelled M-E-W-S. The IPA pronunciation is /mjuːz/.
What does "mews" mean?
As a noun, "mews" means: An alley where there are stables; a narrow passage; a confined place.
What words are commonly confused with "mews"?
"mews" is commonly confused with "MS", "MW", "Mrs". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "mews"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mews" is /mjuːz/. 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 "mews"?
From Mewes, the name of the royal stables at Charing Cross, which is the plural of mew (“falcon cage”). 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 "mews", 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).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list