mistress

/ˈmɪs.tɹᵻs/

//ˈmɪs.tɹᵻs// noun

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

"mistress" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“mistress” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,826. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,826
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A woman, specifically one with great control, authority or ownership.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mistress · mistress · English

mistress · rank #8,826 · 11 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,826
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH mindset

Nearest frequency peer: mindset (-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 “mistress”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “mistress” 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).

mistress vs mistrust
75% similar
mistress vs mistresses
80% similar
mistress vs mattress
75% similar

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

Key facts for mistress
PropertyValue
Headwordmistress
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmɪs.tɹᵻs/
Letters8
Frequency rank#8,826
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “mistress”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).mistresslands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “mindset” (#8,825), “moms” (#8,827), “midfielder” (#8,824). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “mistress” is #8,826. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around mistress (IPA /ˈmɪs.tɹᵻs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #8,826 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 13 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for mistress, with forms such as "imstress", "misrtess", and "misstress". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "mistrust", "mistresses", "mattress", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English maistresse, from Old French maistresse (whence French maîtresse), feminine of maistre (“master”). By surface analysis, mist(e)r + -ess. The correct English form is mistress, spelled M-I-S-T-R-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A woman, specifically one with great control, authority or ownership.
  2. 2
    A female head of household.
  3. 3
    A female teacher.
  4. 4
    The other woman in an extramarital relationship, generally including sexual relations.
  5. 5
    A dominatrix.
  6. 6
    A woman well skilled in anything, or having the mastery over it.
  7. 7
    A woman regarded with love and devotion; a sweetheart.
  8. 8
    A married woman; a wife.
  9. 9
    A respectful mode of address to a woman.
  10. 10
    The jack in the game of bowls.
  11. 11
    A female companion to a master (a man with control, authority or ownership).
  12. 12
    Female equivalent of master.
  13. 13
    Female equivalent of mister.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. She was the mistress of the estate-mansion, and owned the horses.
  2. At the far end of the houses the head gardener stood waiting for his mistress, and he gave her strips of bass to tie up her nosegay. This she did slowly and laboriously, with knuckly old fingers that shook.

Etymology

From Middle English maistresse, from Old French maistresse (whence French maîtresse), feminine of maistre (“master”). By surface analysis, mist(e)r + -ess.

Synonyms

bit on the sideconcubinedoxydulcineagoomahlemanloonminxmistressnumber twoside bitchside chickside pieceside tingsprunkstrumpetwenchwifelet

Antonyms

wife

This word in other languages

dueña(Español)maîtresse(Français)Frau(Deutsch)senhora(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • imstress
  • misrtess
  • misstress
  • misterss
  • mistres
  • mistrress
  • mistrses
  • misttress
  • mitsress
  • mmistress
  • msitress

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of mistress - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

imstress2misrtess2misstress1misterss2mistres1mistrress1mistrses2misttress1
Edit distance from "mistress"

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 "mistress"?
"mistress" is spelled M-I-S-T-R-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmɪs.tɹᵻs/.
What does "mistress" mean?
As a noun, "mistress" means: A woman, specifically one with great control, authority or ownership.
What words are commonly confused with "mistress"?
"mistress" is commonly confused with "mistrust", "mistresses", "mattress". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "mistress"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mistress" is /ˈmɪs.tɹᵻs/. 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 "mistress"?
From Middle English maistresse, from Old French maistresse (whence French maîtresse), feminine of maistre (“master”). By surface analysis, mist(e)r + -ess. 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 "mistress", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

morality#8,830mounting#8,832inviting#8,804instinct#8,803

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

mindset11 variantsmonkeys11 variantspatches11 variantsenvelope11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list