millstone

/ˈmɪlstəʊn/

//ˈmɪlstəʊn// noun

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

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

The verdict

“millstone” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #45,518. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#45,518
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A large round stone used for grinding grain.

Corpus desk

Index EN-millstone · millstone · English

millstone · rank #45,518 · 12 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #45,518
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH midline

Nearest frequency peer: midline (-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 “millstone”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “millstone” 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).

millstone vs milestone
89% similar

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

Key facts for millstone
PropertyValue
Headwordmillstone
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmɪlstəʊn/
Letters9
Frequency rank#45,518
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “millstone”

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

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “midline” (#45,517), “mimicry” (#45,519), “microbe” (#45,516). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “millstone” is #45,518. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around millstone (IPA /ˈmɪlstəʊn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #45,518 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for millstone, with forms such as "imllstone", "millsotne", and "millsstone". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "milestone", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English mylneston, milneston, from Old English mylenstān (“millstone”), from Proto-West Germanic *mulīnu + *stain; equivalent to mill + stone; cognate with Danish møllesten, Middle Dutch molensteen (modern Dutch molensteen), West Frisian molesti… The correct English form is millstone, spelled M-I-L-L-S-T-O-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A large round stone used for grinding grain.
  2. 2
    A coarse-grained sandstone used for making such stones; millstone grit.
  3. 3
    Ellipsis of millstone around one's neck, a heavy responsibility that is difficult to bear (referring to Matthew 18:6 in the Bible).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. As it is the circular Motion of the Mill-ſtone which brings the Corn out of the Hopper by Jerks, and with a Velocity depending upon that of the Stone, other Grains are always ſucceeding, which raiſe it anew, and the Flower just made being no longer preſs'd is carry'd away into the Boulting Mill by the Circulation of Air that the Mill-ſtone puts into motio…
  2. The reason why a mill-stone signifies confirmation from the Word in both senses, is, because wheat signifies good, and fine flour the truth thereof, hence by a mill-stone, by which wheat is ground into fine flour, or barley into meal, is signified the production of truth from good, or the production of what is false from evil, thus also the confirmation o…

Etymology

From Middle English mylneston, milneston, from Old English mylenstān (“millstone”), from Proto-West Germanic *mulīnu + *stain; equivalent to mill + stone; cognate with Danish møllesten, Middle Dutch molensteen (modern Dutch molensteen), West Frisian molestien, Norwegian Bokmål møllestein, Old Saxon mulinstēn (Middle Low German mȫlenstēn), Old High German mulinstein, mülstein (Middle High German mülstein, modern German Mühlstein).

This word in other languages

muela(Español)meule(Français)Mühlstein(Deutsch)mó(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • imllstone
  • millsotne
  • millsstone
  • millstnoe
  • millstoen
  • millstonne
  • millsttone
  • milltsone
  • milsltone
  • milstone
  • mlilstone
  • mmillstone

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of millstone - 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.

imllstone2millsotne2millsstone1millstnoe2millstoen2millstonne1millsttone1milltsone2
Edit distance from "millstone"

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 "millstone"?
"millstone" is spelled M-I-L-L-S-T-O-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmɪlstəʊn/.
What does "millstone" mean?
As a noun, "millstone" means: A large round stone used for grinding grain.
What words are commonly confused with "millstone"?
"millstone" is commonly confused with "milestone". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "millstone"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "millstone" is /ˈmɪlstəʊn/. 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 "millstone"?
From Middle English mylneston, milneston, from Old English mylenstān (“millstone”), from Proto-West Germanic *mulīnu + *stain; equivalent to mill + stone; cognate with Danish møllesten, Middle Dutch molensteen (modern Dutch molensteen), West Frisi... 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 "millstone", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Murchison#45,530optometry#45,559Orwellian#45,561peachtree#45,576

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

Menendez12 variantsLombardo12 variantsjubilant12 variantsjailhouse12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list