mildew

/ˈmɪl.djuː/

//ˈmɪl.djuː// noun

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

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

The verdict

“mildew” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #34,592. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#34,592
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
16
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A growth of minute powdery or webby fungi, whitish or of different colors, found on various diseased or decaying substances.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mildew · mildew · English

mildew · rank #34,592 · 9 variants · 16 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #34,592
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 16 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH middleman

Nearest frequency peer: middleman (-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 “mildew”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “mildew” 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).

mildew vs mile
67% similar
mildew vs miles
67% similar
mildew vs Miley
50% similar

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

Key facts for mildew
PropertyValue
Headwordmildew
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmɪl.djuː/
Letters6
Frequency rank#34,592
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs16
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “mildew”

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).mildewlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “middleman” (#34,591), “mindedness” (#34,593), “Metz” (#34,589). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “mildew” is #34,592. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around mildew (IPA /ˈmɪl.djuː/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #34,592 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A growth of minute powdery or webby fungi, whitish or of different colors, found on various diseased or decaying substances.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for mildew, with forms such as "imldew", "midlew", and "milddew". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 16 confusable-pair relationships, "mile", "miles", "Miley", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English myldew, from Old English meledēaw, mildēaw, from Proto-West Germanic *milidauw, from *mili (“honey”) + *dauw (“dew”). Compare West Frisian moaldau, Dutch meeldauw, German Mehltau. More at dew. The correct English form is mildew, spelled M-I-L-D-E-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    A growth of minute powdery or webby fungi, whitish or of different colors, found on various diseased or decaying substances.

Etymology

From Middle English myldew, from Old English meledēaw, mildēaw, from Proto-West Germanic *milidauw, from *mili (“honey”) + *dauw (“dew”). Compare West Frisian moaldau, Dutch meeldauw, German Mehltau. More at dew.

This word in other languages

moho(Español)mildiou(Français)Mehltau(Deutsch)mofo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • imldew
  • midlew
  • milddew
  • mildeww
  • mildwe
  • miledw
  • milldew
  • mlidew
  • mmildew

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of mildew - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

imldew2midlew2milddew1mildeww1mildwe2miledw2milldew1mlidew2
Edit distance from "mildew"

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 "mildew"?
"mildew" is spelled M-I-L-D-E-W. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmɪl.djuː/.
What does "mildew" mean?
As a noun, "mildew" means: A growth of minute powdery or webby fungi, whitish or of different colors, found on various diseased or decaying substances.
What words are commonly confused with "mildew"?
"mildew" is commonly confused with "mile", "miles", "Miley". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "mildew"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mildew" is /ˈmɪl.djuː/. 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 "mildew"?
From Middle English myldew, from Old English meledēaw, mildēaw, from Proto-West Germanic *milidauw, from *mili (“honey”) + *dauw (“dew”). Compare West Frisian moaldau, Dutch meeldauw, German Mehltau. More at dew. 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 "mildew", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Merced#34,588meagre#34,584Marlow#34,581lookup#34,576

Similar misspelling depth

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

outlier9 variantsJulianne9 variantsJacoby9 variantsplacer9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list