midget

/ˈmɪd͡ʒɪt/

//ˈmɪd͡ʒɪt// noun

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

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

The verdict

“midget” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #20,427. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#20,427
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A very small thing; especially one which is conspicuously smaller than expected or by comparison.

Corpus desk

Index EN-midget · midget · English

midget · rank #20,427 · 9 variants · 7 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #20,427
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH MGM

Nearest frequency peer: MGM (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “midget”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “midget” 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).

midget vs might
67% similar
midget vs midst
67% similar
midget vs millet
67% similar

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

Key facts for midget
PropertyValue
Headwordmidget
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmɪd͡ʒɪt/
Letters6
Frequency rank#20,427
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “midget”

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).midgetlands 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 “MGM” (#20,426), “midwife” (#20,428), “merciful” (#20,425). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “midget” is #20,427. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around midget (IPA /ˈmɪd͡ʒɪt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #20,427 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for midget, with forms such as "imdget", "mdiget", and "middget". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "might", "midst", "millet", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From midge (chiefly in the figurative sense of “small thing”, literally “small fly”) + -et (diminutive suffix), (from Old English myċġ (“mosquito”), from Proto-Germanic *mugjō, from Proto-Indo-European *mus-, *mu-, *mew-; cognate with Dutch mug (“mosquito”)… The correct English form is midget, spelled M-I-D-G-E-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A very small thing; especially one which is conspicuously smaller than expected or by comparison.
  2. 2
    Alternative form of midge (“small fly”)
  3. 3
    A short person.
  4. 4
    Something for use by a small person; especially something designed or made for one.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. the midget pony
  2. By using a midget, skin-tight car of the kind made in Italy the Johannesburger might save himself much tribulation, but he likes large and glittering things, and would rather toil round his city in vain search of a place to put his supercharged, supergrinning Mammalac than use a baby car.

Etymology

From midge (chiefly in the figurative sense of “small thing”, literally “small fly”) + -et (diminutive suffix), (from Old English myċġ (“mosquito”), from Proto-Germanic *mugjō, from Proto-Indo-European *mus-, *mu-, *mew-; cognate with Dutch mug (“mosquito”) and German Mücke (“midge, gnat”)).

This word in other languages

enano(Español)nain(Français)Zwerg(Deutsch)anão(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • imdget
  • mdiget
  • middget
  • midegt
  • midgett
  • midgget
  • midgte
  • migdet
  • mmidget

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of midget - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

imdget2mdiget2middget1midegt2midgett1midgget1midgte2migdet2
Edit distance from "midget"

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 "midget"?
"midget" is spelled M-I-D-G-E-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmɪd͡ʒɪt/.
What does "midget" mean?
As a noun, "midget" means: A very small thing; especially one which is conspicuously smaller than expected or by comparison.
What words are commonly confused with "midget"?
"midget" is commonly confused with "might", "midst", "millet". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "midget"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "midget" is /ˈmɪd͡ʒɪt/. 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 "midget"?
From midge (chiefly in the figurative sense of “small thing”, literally “small fly”) + -et (diminutive suffix), (from Old English myċġ (“mosquito”), from Proto-Germanic *mugjō, from Proto-Indo-European *mus-, *mu-, *mew-; cognate with Dutch mug (“... 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 "midget", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

mutiny#20,438latent#20,407Oakley#20,448Khalid#20,401

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

nagging9 variantsKelsey9 variantsinvoice9 variantspicket9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list