minus
/ˈmaɪ.nəs/
"minus" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“minus” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,158. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #7,158
- frequency rank, English
- 4,057
- “M” headwords
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Made less or reduced by (followed by an expression of number or quantity).
Corpus desk
Index EN-minus · minus · English
minus · rank #7,158 · 7 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #7,158
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 7 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,057
- PHOTO-FINISH MC
Nearest frequency peer: MC (-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 “minus”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- Louise
Louise
92,846 corpus weight
- magnitude
magnitude
92,845 corpus weight
- MC
MC
92,844 corpus weight
- minus
minus
92,843 corpus weight
- NHS
NHS
92,842 corpus weight
- noting
noting
92,841 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “minus” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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 | minus |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Preposition |
| IPA | /ˈmaɪ.nəs/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #7,158 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “minus” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 7 spelling variants around minus (IPA /ˈmaɪ.nəs/), apreposition. Corpus frequency is #7,158 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for minus, with forms such as "imnus", "minnus", and "minsu". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "miss", "Mons", "monks", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English mynus, from Latin minus, neuter form of minor, comparative form of parvus (“small, little”), from the Proto-Indo-European root *mey- (“few, small”). The correct English form is minus, spelled M-I-N-U-S.
Definition
- 1Made less or reduced by (followed by an expression of number or quantity).
- 2Without; deprived of.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how minus appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Seven minus two is five.
I walked out minus my coat.
Etymology
From Middle English mynus, from Latin minus, neuter form of minor, comparative form of parvus (“small, little”), from the Proto-Indo-European root *mey- (“few, small”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- imnus
- minnus
- minsu
- minuss
- miuns
- mminus
- mnius
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of minus - 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.
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 September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "minus"?
What does "minus" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "minus"?
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What is the origin of the word "minus"?
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "minus", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "minus". Here's where to go from here.
- "minus" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "miss". View pair
- 7 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #7,158 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "M" letter cohort. M–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.