miser

/ˈmaɪzə(ɹ)/

//ˈmaɪzə(ɹ)// noun

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

"miser" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“miser” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #49,498. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#49,498
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person who hoards money rather than spending it; one who is cheap or extremely parsimonious.

Corpus desk

Index EN-miser · miser · English

miser · rank #49,498 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #49,498
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH misreading

Nearest frequency peer: misreading (+2 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 “miser”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “miser” 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).

miser vs miss
60% similar
miser vs mist
60% similar
miser vs muse
60% similar

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

Key facts for miser
PropertyValue
Headwordmiser
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmaɪzə(ɹ)/
Letters5
Frequency rank#49,498
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “miser”

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).miserlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “misreading” (#49,500), “Mizzou” (#49,501), “MGS” (#49,494). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “miser” is #49,498. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around miser (IPA /ˈmaɪzə(ɹ)/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #49,498 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for miser, with forms such as "imser", "miesr", and "miserr". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "miss", "mist", "muse", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English misser, from Late Latin miser (“wretched, unfortunate, unhappy, miserable, sick, ill, bad, worthless, etc.”). The correct English form is miser, spelled M-I-S-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person who hoards money rather than spending it; one who is cheap or extremely parsimonious.
  2. 2
    A person who is wretched or despicable; a wretch.
  3. 3
    A kind of earth auger, typically large-bored and often hand-operated.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Scrooge was a typical miser: spending nothing he could save, nor enjoying his wealth.
  2. […] foꝛ it was many times notoꝛious vnto al mẽ, yͭ he did eate in his houſe no other fleſh by the ſpace of iii. dayes, but on Hare, whiche was ſent him. He was ſuch a miſer to ſpend, ⁊ ſo deſirous to hooꝛd and lay vp money, yͭ had it not béene foꝛ ſome dayes of ſacrifices, oꝛ his bidden gueſts, not a moꝛsel of fleſh was eaten in his houſe: but only fed of…

Etymology

From Middle English misser, from Late Latin miser (“wretched, unfortunate, unhappy, miserable, sick, ill, bad, worthless, etc.”).

Synonyms

carlcheapasscheapiecheapskatecheapochurlclutchfistel cheapolast of the big spendersmagpiemisermoneygrubbermuckwormnickel nursernigniggardnigonnipcheesenipfarthingpenny-fatherpenny pincherpickpennypikerpinch-commonspinch-gutpincherpinchfistpinchpennyscrimpscroogesnudgesquirrelskinflinttight-arsetightwad

Antonyms

spendthrift

This word in other languages

avaro(Español)avare(Français)Geizhals(Deutsch)sovina(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • imser
  • miesr
  • miserr
  • misre
  • misser
  • mmiser
  • msier

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of miser - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

imser2miesr2miserr1misre2misser1mmiser1msier2
Edit distance from "miser"

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 "miser"?
"miser" is spelled M-I-S-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmaɪzə(ɹ)/.
What does "miser" mean?
As a noun, "miser" means: A person who hoards money rather than spending it; one who is cheap or extremely parsimonious.
What words are commonly confused with "miser"?
"miser" is commonly confused with "miss", "mist", "muse". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "miser"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "miser" is /ˈmaɪzə(ɹ)/. 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 "miser"?
From Middle English misser, from Late Latin miser (“wretched, unfortunate, unhappy, miserable, sick, ill, bad, worthless, etc.”). 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 "miser", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

myrrh#49,515Marne#49,480Naidu#49,516nazir#49,519

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

Pallas7 variantslaver7 variantspiñata7 variantspooper7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list