microphone

Name: microphone, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/ˈmaɪ.kɹəˌfəʊn/

//ˈmaɪ.kɹəˌfəʊn// noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“microphone” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #10,887. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,887
frequency rank, English: 4,057
“M” headwords: 15
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A device (transducer) used to convert sound waves into a varying electric current; normally fed into an amplifier and either recorded or transmitted over radio.

Corpus desk

Index EN-microphone · microphone · English

microphone · rank #10,887 · 15 variants · 0 confusables

FREQ-MID #10,887
LEN-MEGA 10 letters
VOW-4 4 vowels
CONFUS-0 No pairs
VAR-HIGH 15 variants
BOOK-MID 4,057
PHOTO-FINISH Michel

Nearest frequency peer: Michel (-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.

mayo

89,116
Michel

89,115
microphone

89,114
miniature

89,113
monks

89,112
motto

89,111

What this shows “microphone” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Key facts for microphone
Property	Value
Headword	microphone
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/ˈmaɪ.kɹəˌfəʊn/
Letters	10
Frequency rank	#10,887
Misspellings tracked	15
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “microphone”

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).microphonelands here:

#10,887

#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 “Michel” (#10,886), “miniature” (#10,888), “mayo” (#10,885). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “microphone” is #10,887. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around microphone (IPA /ˈmaɪ.kɹəˌfəʊn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #10,887 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A device (transducer) used to convert sound waves into a varying electric current; normally fed into an amplifier and either recorded or transmitted over radio.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for microphone, with forms such as "imcrophone", "mcirophone", and "miccrophone". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From micro- + -phone. The correct English form is microphone, spelled M-I-C-R-O-P-H-O-N-E.

Definition

1
A device (transducer) used to convert sound waves into a varying electric current; normally fed into an amplifier and either recorded or transmitted over radio.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

Behind the tangled garden of microphones that had sprouted on the lectern, Goldwater spoke softly and casually about his family.
It rained hard through most of Roosevelt's Second Inaugural. Audio tape recordings of the speech feature the tattoo of the rain on Roosevelt's microphone[…]

Etymology

From micro- + -phone.

Synonyms

mic mike

This word in other languages

micrófono(Español)microphone(Français)Mikrofon(Deutsch)microfone(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

imcrophone
mcirophone
miccrophone
micorphone
microhpone
microphhone
microphnoe
microphoen
microphonne
micropohne
micropphone
micrpohone
micrrophone
mircophone
mmicrophone

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

Edit distance from "microphone"

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 "microphone"?

"microphone" is spelled M-I-C-R-O-P-H-O-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmaɪ.kɹəˌfəʊn/.

What does "microphone" mean?

As a noun, "microphone" means: A device (transducer) used to convert sound waves into a varying electric current; normally fed into an amplifier and either recorded or transmitted over radio.

What are common misspellings of "microphone"?

Common misspellings include "imcrophone", "mcirophone", "miccrophone", "micorphone", "microhpone". The correct spelling is "microphone".

How do you pronounce "microphone"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "microphone" is /ˈmaɪ.kɹəˌfəʊn/. 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 "microphone"?

From micro- + -phone. 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 "microphone", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Nottingham#10,895 plantation#10,910 homosexual#10,863 sacrifices#10,929

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

occupational15 variants presently15 variants radioactive15 variants devastated15 variants