minefield
/ˈmaɪnˌfild/
"minefield" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“minefield” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #32,083 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #32,083
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An area in which land mines or naval mines have been laid.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | minefield |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈmaɪnˌfild/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #32,083 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “minefield” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for minefield is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈmaɪnˌfild/. Corpus data places it at rank #32,083 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for minefield, with forms such as "imnefield", "mienfield", and "minefeild". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "midfield", "Mansfield", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From mine + field. Compare Saterland Frisian Mienenfäield (“minefield”), West Frisian mynfjild (“minefield”), Dutch mijnenveld (“minefield”), German Low German Minenfeld (“minefield”), German Minenfeld (“minefield”), Danish minefelt (“minefield”), Swedish m… The correct English form is minefield, spelled M-I-N-E-F-I-E-L-D.
Definition
- 1An area in which land mines or naval mines have been laid.
- 2A matter or situation presenting multiple risks, dangers, complications or difficulties.
- 3A pitch that has dried out and crumbled and on which the ball is bouncing and spinning unpredictably.
- 4A quiz that terminates when the test-taker answers a question incorrectly.
Etymology
From mine + field. Compare Saterland Frisian Mienenfäield (“minefield”), West Frisian mynfjild (“minefield”), Dutch mijnenveld (“minefield”), German Low German Minenfeld (“minefield”), German Minenfeld (“minefield”), Danish minefelt (“minefield”), Swedish minfält (“minefield”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: imnefield,mienfield,minefeild,mineffield,minefiedl,minefieldd,minefielld,minefiled,mineifeld,minfeield,minnefield,mminefield,mniefield
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of minefield - 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.
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 "minefield"?
What does "minefield" mean?
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Using “minefield”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-I-N-E-F-I-E-L-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈmaɪnˌfild/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “midfield” - see the side-by-side comparison. minefield vs midfield
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.