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might

[mɐɪt]noun, verb

might is spelled M-I-G-H-T: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 457 times per million words in written English, the 207th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “might vs mite” about 70 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, might means “Power, strength, force, or influence held by a person or group” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of might is mights.

How many letters and syllables are in might?

Letters5: M-I-G-H-T
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing457 times per million words; the 207th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search
Sounds like

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).

How common is might?

Might appears 457 times per million words in written English, the 207th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce might?

  • /maɪt/
  • UK [maɪt]
  • US [mɐɪt]

Might has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-might.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with might

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

might vs mite70 G

Sounds like: mite (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).

Also written: med.

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

Forms of might

  • mights plural
  • mite informal
  • mighter comparative
  • mightest superlative
  • mought
  • mout

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does might mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    Power, strength, force, or influence held by a person or group.

  2. 2

    Physical strength or force.

    He pushed with all his might, but still it would not move.

  3. 3

    The ability to do something.

verb

  1. 1

    simple past of may (a form of may)

    He asked me if he might go to the party, but I haven't decided yet.

  2. 2

    Used to indicate a desired past action that was not done.

    You might have warned me about the thunderstorm.

  3. 3

    Used to indicate conditional or possible actions; would perhaps/maybe.

    Well, I might go to a party, but I haven't decided yet.

  4. 4

    Used concessively to admit something before making a more accurate or important statement; although

    I might be in a wheelchair, but I still want to be treated as a lady.

  5. 5

    archaicUsed in polite requests for permission.

    "Might I take the last biscuit? I wonder if I might have a little more coffee too." "Yes you may, help yourself.".

  6. 6

    UKUsed to express certainty.

    Yeah, I think we might need something a bit sturdier.

adjective

  1. 1

    obsoleteMighty; powerful.

  2. 2

    obsoletePossible.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Might in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchpouvoir, puissance (personal power), force (physical strength), peut-être (indicator of conditional or possible actions)
GermanMacht (personal power), Kraft (physical strength), könnte, könnten (indicator of conditional or possible actions), Vermögen (ability)
Portuguesepotência (personal power), força (physical strength), poder, talvez (indicator of conditional or possible actions)
Spanishpotestad, potencia, poder, poderío (personal power), fuerza (physical strength), puede que (indicator of conditional or possible actions)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does might come from?

From Middle English maught, might, miȝt, myght, from Old English maht, meaht, meht, mieht, miht, mæht (“ability, power; strength; virtue”), from Proto-West Germanic *mahti, from Proto-Germanic *mahtiz (“ability, power; force, strength”), from Proto-Indo-European *(me)mógʰe (“to be able to, to have power”), from *megʰ- (“to be able”), corresponding to Germanic *maganą (“to be able, may”) + *-þiz. Equivalent to may + -th.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

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