mobile

/ˈməʊ.baɪl/

//ˈməʊ.baɪl// adj

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

"mobile" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“mobile” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,488. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,488
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Capable of being moved, especially on wheels.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mobile · mobile · English

mobile · rank #1,488 · 8 variants · 10 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,488
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 10 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH losing

Nearest frequency peer: losing (-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 “mobile”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “mobile” 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).

mobile vs mole
67% similar
mobile vs movie
67% similar
mobile vs motive
67% similar

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

Key facts for mobile
PropertyValue
Headwordmobile
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈməʊ.baɪl/
Letters6
Frequency rank#1,488
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “mobile”

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).mobilelands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “losing” (#1,487), “northern” (#1,489), “learned” (#1,486). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “mobile” is #1,488. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around mobile (IPA /ˈməʊ.baɪl/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #1,488 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for mobile, with forms such as "mboile", "mmobile", and "mobbile". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 10 confusable-pair relationships, "mole", "movie", "motive", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin mōbilis (“easy to be moved, moveable”), from moveō (“move”). The video-gaming sense was coined by Richard Bartle to describe NPCs or creatures capable of moving "under their own power" in the 1978 video game … The correct English form is mobile, spelled M-O-B-I-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Capable of being moved, especially on wheels.
  2. 2
    Pertaining to or by agency of mobile phones.
  3. 3
    Characterized by an extreme degree of fluidity; moving or flowing with great freedom.
  4. 4
    Easily moved in feeling, purpose, or direction; excitable; changeable; fickle.
  5. 5
    Changing in appearance and expression under the influence of the mind.
  6. 6
    Capable of being moved, aroused, or excited; capable of spontaneous movement.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. a mobile home
  2. mobile number

Etymology

From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin mōbilis (“easy to be moved, moveable”), from moveō (“move”). The video-gaming sense was coined by Richard Bartle to describe NPCs or creatures capable of moving "under their own power" in the 1978 video game Multi-User Dungeon. Bartle retracted an earlier claim of his that it was from the kinetic sculpture sense of mobile (for the "unpredictable but limited" motion of the hanging ornaments).

This word in other languages

móvil(Español)mobile(Français)beweglich(Deutsch)móvel(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • mboile
  • mmobile
  • mobbile
  • mobiel
  • mobille
  • moblie
  • moible
  • ombile

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

mboile2mmobile1mobbile1mobiel2mobille1moblie2moible2ombile2
Edit distance from "mobile"

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 "mobile"?
"mobile" is spelled M-O-B-I-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈməʊ.baɪl/.
What does "mobile" mean?
As an adjective, "mobile" means: Capable of being moved, especially on wheels.
What words are commonly confused with "mobile"?
"mobile" is commonly confused with "mole", "movie", "motive". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "mobile"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mobile" is /ˈməʊ.baɪl/. 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 "mobile"?
From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin mōbilis (“easy to be moved, moveable”), from moveō (“move”). The video-gaming sense was coined by Richard Bartle to describe NPCs or creatures capable of moving "under their own power" in the 1978 v... 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 "mobile", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

losing#1,487opened#1,490placed#1,491eating#1,480

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

channel8 variantsactual8 variantsstars8 variantssitting8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list