midden

/ˈmɪdən/

//ˈmɪdən// noun

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

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

The verdict

“midden” is uncommon English (frequency #72,546 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#72,546
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - A dung heap.

Corpus desk

Index EN-midden · midden · English

midden · rank #72,546 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #72,546
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH microclimate

Nearest frequency peer: microclimate (-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 “midden”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “midden” 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 2, 2026
Key facts for midden
PropertyValue
Headwordmidden
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmɪdən/
Letters6
Frequency rank#72,546
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “midden” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). midden lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

midden is uncommon English at frequency #72,546 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈmɪdən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for midden in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English midding, myddyng, from Old Danish mykdyngja, (a compound of Old Norse myk, myki (“muck, manure”) and dyngja (“dung, dungpile”)), whence also Danish møgdynge and mødding, Norwegian mødding, dialectal Swedish mödding. The correct English form is midden, spelled M-I-D-D-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A dung heap.
  2. 2
    A refuse heap usually near a dwelling.
  3. 3
    An accumulation, deposit, or soil derived from occupation debris, rubbish, or other by-products of human activity, such as bone, shell, ash, or decayed organic materials; or a pile or mound of such materials, often prehistoric.
  4. 4
    A shelter made of vegetation and other materials by packrats.
  5. 5
    An accumulation of dried urine and fecal deposits made by hyraxes.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Untouched by the decaying middens in which they live, they emerge into the sunshine immaculate and serene. The Burmese must be the best-dressed people in the world.
  2. Strange rubbish, not the tins and paper and boxes and other containers you would expect in a town, but a finer kind of waste […] that made the middens look like grey-black mounds of sifted earth.

Etymology

From Middle English midding, myddyng, from Old Danish mykdyngja, (a compound of Old Norse myk, myki (“muck, manure”) and dyngja (“dung, dungpile”)), whence also Danish møgdynge and mødding, Norwegian mødding, dialectal Swedish mödding.

This word in other languages

basural(Español)Müllgrube(Deutsch)

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "midden"?
"midden" is spelled M-I-D-D-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmɪdən/.
What does "midden" mean?
As a noun, "midden" means: A dung heap.
How do you pronounce "midden"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "midden" is /ˈmɪdən/. 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 "midden"?
From Middle English midding, myddyng, from Old Danish mykdyngja, (a compound of Old Norse myk, myki (“muck, manure”) and dyngja (“dung, dungpile”)), whence also Danish møgdynge and mødding, Norwegian mødding, dialectal Swedish mödding. 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 "midden", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Misato#72,550Mistry#72,552Moroni#72,560matchy#72,529
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