midwinter

/ˌmɪdˈwɪntə(ɹ)/

//ˌmɪdˈwɪntə(ɹ)// noun

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

"midwinter" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“midwinter” is uncommon English (frequency #51,247 among 36,575 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#51,247
frequency rank, English
36,575
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The middle of winter.

Corpus desk

Index EN-midwinter · midwinter · English

midwinter · rank #51,247 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #51,247
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 36,575
  • PHOTO-FINISH mids

Nearest frequency peer: mids (-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 “midwinter”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “midwinter” 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 May 6, 2026
Key facts for midwinter
PropertyValue
Headwordmidwinter
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌmɪdˈwɪntə(ɹ)/
Letters9
Frequency rank#51,247
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “midwinter” 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). midwinter 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

midwinter is uncommon English at frequency #51,247 among 36,575 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌmɪdˈwɪntə(ɹ)/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for midwinter, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English midwinter, mydwinter, mydwynter, from Old English midwinter, from Proto-West Germanic *midiwintru, from Proto-Germanic *midjawintruz (“midwinter”), equivalent to mid- + winter. Cognate with West Frisian midwinter (“midwinter”), Dutch mid… The correct English form is midwinter, spelled M-I-D-W-I-N-T-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    The middle of winter.
  2. 2
    The winter solstice; about December 21st or 22nd.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Except for the mid-winter period, when the 11.30 a.m. from Paddington and its opposite number will be withdrawn - Torquay now has seven daily expresses to and from Paddington as compared with five down and six up previously.
  2. For more than a century, groundhogs have been midwinter luminaries, scampering into the spotlight on February 2 to divine whether the second half of the season will be cold or mild.

Etymology

From Middle English midwinter, mydwinter, mydwynter, from Old English midwinter, from Proto-West Germanic *midiwintru, from Proto-Germanic *midjawintruz (“midwinter”), equivalent to mid- + winter. Cognate with West Frisian midwinter (“midwinter”), Dutch midwinter (“midwinter”), German Mittwinter (“midwinter”), Danish midvinter (“midwinter”), Swedish midvinter (“midwinter”).

Antonyms

midsummer

This word in other languages

solstice d'hiver(Français)Wintersonnenwende(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 May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "midwinter"?
"midwinter" is spelled M-I-D-W-I-N-T-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌmɪdˈwɪntə(ɹ)/.
What does "midwinter" mean?
As a noun, "midwinter" means: The middle of winter.
How do you pronounce "midwinter"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "midwinter" is /ˌmɪdˈwɪntə(ɹ)/. 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 "midwinter"?
From Middle English midwinter, mydwinter, mydwynter, from Old English midwinter, from Proto-West Germanic *midiwintru, from Proto-Germanic *midjawintruz (“midwinter”), equivalent to mid- + winter. Cognate with West Frisian midwinter (“midwinter”),... 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 "midwinter", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

manliness#51,236Manitowoc#51,235macadamia#51,228namespace#51,272
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