mist

/mɪst/

//mɪst// noun

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

"mist" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“mist” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,744. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#11,744
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Water or other liquid finely suspended in air. (Compare fog, haze.)

Corpus desk

Index EN-mist · mist · English

mist · rank #11,744 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #11,744
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH merits

Nearest frequency peer: merits (-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 “mist”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “mist” 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).

mist vs MS
0% similar
mist vs MT
0% similar
mist vs Mrs
25% similar

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

Key facts for mist
PropertyValue
Headwordmist
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/mɪst/
Letters4
Frequency rank#11,744
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “mist”

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).mistlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “merits” (#11,743), “mole” (#11,745), “molecule” (#11,746). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “mist” is #11,744. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around mist (IPA /mɪst/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #11,744 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for mist, with forms such as "imst", "misst", and "mistt". 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, "MS", "MT", "Mrs", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: The noun is from Middle English mist, from Old English mist (“mist; darkness; dimness (of eyesight)”), from Proto-Germanic *mihstaz (“mist, fog”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃migʰstos, from the root *h₃meygʰ- (“cloud, fog, drizzle”). Cognate with Scots mist… The correct English form is mist, spelled M-I-S-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Water or other liquid finely suspended in air. (Compare fog, haze.)
  2. 2
    A layer of fine droplets or particles.
  3. 3
    Anything that dims, darkens, or hinders vision.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. It was difficult to see through the morning mist.
  2. There was an oily mist on the lens.

Etymology

The noun is from Middle English mist, from Old English mist (“mist; darkness; dimness (of eyesight)”), from Proto-Germanic *mihstaz (“mist, fog”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃migʰstos, from the root *h₃meygʰ- (“cloud, fog, drizzle”). Cognate with Scots mist (“mist, fog”), West Frisian mist (“mist”), Dutch mist (“mist”), Swedish mist (“mist, fog”), Icelandic mistur (“mist”), West Frisian miegelje (“to drizzle”), Dutch dialectal miggelen, miegelen (“to drizzle”), Lithuanian miglà (“fog”), Sanskrit मेघ (megha, “cloud”), Russian мгла (mgla, “fog, haze”). The verb is from Middle English misten, from Old English mistian.

This word in other languages

neblina(Español)brouillard(Français)Dunst(Deutsch)névoa(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • imst
  • misst
  • mistt
  • mits
  • mmist
  • msit

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

imst2misst1mistt1mits2mmist1msit2
Edit distance from "mist"

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 "mist"?
"mist" is spelled M-I-S-T. The IPA pronunciation is /mɪst/.
What does "mist" mean?
As a noun, "mist" means: Water or other liquid finely suspended in air. (Compare fog, haze.)
What words are commonly confused with "mist"?
"mist" is commonly confused with "MS", "MT", "Mrs". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "mist"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mist" is /mɪst/. 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 "mist"?
The noun is from Middle English mist, from Old English mist (“mist; darkness; dimness (of eyesight)”), from Proto-Germanic *mihstaz (“mist, fog”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃migʰstos, from the root *h₃meygʰ- (“cloud, fog, drizzle”). Cognate with ... 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 "mist", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

mole#11,745lure#11,738lays#11,734otto#11,755

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

holt6 variantsrant6 variantsHassan6 variantsrash6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list