moa

/ˈmɒʌ/

//ˈmɒʌ// noun

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

"moa" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“moa” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #29,747) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#29,747
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - 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.

Corpus desk

Index EN-moa · moa · English

moa · rank #29,747 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #29,747
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH mitigated

Nearest frequency peer: mitigated (-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.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “moa”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “moa” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

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).

moa vs my
33% similar
moa vs Mr
0% similar
moa vs MS
0% similar

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

Key facts for moa
PropertyValue
Headwordmoa
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmɒʌ/
Letters3
Frequency rank#29,747
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “moa”

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).moalands 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 “mitigated” (#29,746), “mocha” (#29,748), “mistreatment” (#29,745). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “moa” is #29,747. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for moa is neighbouring look-alikes ("my", "Mr", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /ˈmɒʌ/. Frequency #29,747 among 4,057 “M” headwords. 2 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

moa doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "my", "Mr", "MS", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Māori moa, from Proto-Polynesian *moa (“fowl”). The correct English form is moa, spelled M-O-A.

Definition

  1. 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. 2
    An extremely tall individual.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The moas (order Dinornithiformes) of New Zealand are likewise extinct but almost certainly some still survived when Tasman first sighted the islands in 1642.
  2. For instance, the little bush moa fed nearly exclusively on forest vegetation, whereas the heavy-footed moa was a grazer in open vegetation habitats.

Etymology

Borrowed from Māori moa, from Proto-Polynesian *moa (“fowl”).

This word in other languages

moa(Español)Moa(Deutsch)

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 "moa"?
"moa" is spelled M-O-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmɒʌ/.
What does "moa" mean?
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 species was the largest bird in the world.
What words are commonly confused with "moa"?
"moa" is commonly confused with "my", "Mr", "MS". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "moa"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "moa" is /ˈmɒʌ/. 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 "moa"?
Borrowed from Māori moa, from Proto-Polynesian *moa (“fowl”). 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 "moa", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

MI6#29,741NEA#29,755MCU#29,734Ori#29,771

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list