mishmash
/ˈmɪʃˌmæʃ/
"mishmash" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“mishmash” is an uncommon English word, ranked #68,447 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #68,447
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A collection containing a variety of miscellaneous things.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | mishmash |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈmɪʃˌmæʃ/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #68,447 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “mishmash” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for mishmash is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈmɪʃˌmæʃ/. Corpus data places it at rank #68,447 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A collection containing a variety of miscellaneous things.".
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for mishmash, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Attested since the late 15th century, Middle English mysse masche, probably a reduplication of mash, although a Yiddish origin or influence has also been suggested. Cognates include Saterland Frisian Miskmask and German Mischmasch. The correct English form is mishmash, spelled M-I-S-H-M-A-S-H.
Definition
- 1A collection containing a variety of miscellaneous things.
Etymology
Attested since the late 15th century, Middle English mysse masche, probably a reduplication of mash, although a Yiddish origin or influence has also been suggested. Cognates include Saterland Frisian Miskmask and German Mischmasch.
This word in other languages
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 "mishmash"?
What does "mishmash" mean?
How do you pronounce "mishmash"?
What is the origin of the word "mishmash"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “mishmash”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-I-S-H-M-A-S-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈmɪʃˌmæʃ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.