moa
/ˈməʊə/noun
moa is spelled M-O-A: 3 letters. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,649th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, moa means “Any of several species of large, extinct, flightless birds of the family Dinornithidae that were native to New Zealand; until its extinction, one…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of moa is moas.
How many letters and syllables are in moa?
| Letters | 3: M-O-A |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 29,649th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is moa?
Moa appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,649th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce moa?
- /ˈmɒʌ/
- /ˈmoə/
- UK /ˈməʊə/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-moa.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with moa
Also written: moe.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with moa?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as moa from its last stressed vowel (/əʊə/, British pronunciation):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: mao, oma.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of moa
- moas plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does moa mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any of several species of large, extinct, flightless birds of the family Dinornithidae that were native to New Zealand; until its extinction, one species was the largest bird in the world.
- 2
An extremely tall individual.
noun
- 1
Initialism of minute of angle.
- 2
Initialism of military operations area.
- 3
Acronym of memorandum of agreement.
- 4
Initialism of mission-oriented approach (NATO AAP-15).
- 5
Initialism of mechanism of action.
noun
- 1
Initialism of mechanism of action.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Moa in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense extinct bird:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Moa |
| Portuguese | moa |
| Spanish | dinornítido, moa |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does moa come from?
Borrowed from Māori moa, from Proto-Polynesian *moa (“fowl”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).