modal verb
"modal-verb" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“modal verb” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A verb whose primary function is to express grammatical mood.
Corpus desk
Index EN-modal-verb · modal verb · English
modal verb · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "M" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | modal verb |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “modal verb” in English
Rare enough to double-check
modal verb is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A verb whose primary function is to express grammatical mood.".
modal verb has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct English form is modal verb, spelled M-O-D-A-L- -V-E-R-B.
Definition
- 1A verb whose primary function is to express grammatical mood.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how modal verb appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Although at first glance combinations of two modal verbs might seem to be cases of grammatical distortion, their use is scientifically recognised.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.