moist
/mɔɪst/
"moist" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“moist” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,421. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #11,421
- frequency rank, English
- 4,057
- “M” headwords
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Characterized by the presence of moisture; not dry; slightly wet; damp.
Corpus desk
Index EN-moist · moist · English
moist · rank #11,421 · 7 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-MID #11,421
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 7 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,057
- PHOTO-FINISH monarch
Nearest frequency peer: monarch (+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 neighbourhood for “moist”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- Midlands
Midlands
88,583 corpus weight
- midway
midway
88,582 corpus weight
- moist
moist
88,580 corpus weight
- monarch
monarch
88,579 corpus weight
- monte
monte
88,578 corpus weight
- monuments
monuments
88,577 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “moist” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | moist |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /mɔɪst/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #11,421 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “moist” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 7 spelling variants around moist (IPA /mɔɪst/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #11,421 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for moist, with forms such as "miost", "mmoist", and "moisst". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "MoS", "mot", "MST", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: The adjective is derived from Middle English moist, moiste [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman moist, moiste, moste, Middle French moiste, and Old French moiste, muste (“damp, moist, wet”) (modern French moite); further etymology uncertain, perhaps a blend… The correct English form is moist, spelled M-O-I-S-T.
Definition
- 1Characterized by the presence of moisture; not dry; slightly wet; damp.
- 2Of eyes: wet with tears; tearful; also (obsolete), watery due to some illness or to old age.
- 3Of a climate, the weather, etc.: damp, humid, rainy.
- 4Of the vagina: sexually lubricated due to sexual arousal; of a woman: sexually aroused, turned on.
- 5Characterized by the presence of some fluid such as mucus, pus, etc.
- 6Of sounds of internal organs (especially as heard through a stethoscope): characterized by the sound of air bubbling through a fluid.
- 7Pertaining to one of the four essential qualities formerly believed to be present in all things, characterized by wetness; also, having a significant amount of this quality.
- 8Fluid, liquid, watery.
- 9Bringing moisture or rain.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how moist appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Will theſe moyſt Trees, That haue out-liu'd the Eagle, page thy heeles And skip when thou point'ſt out?
And [the Angel of the Lord] made the mids of the fornace, as it had bene a moiſt whiſtling wind, ſo that the fire touched them not at all, neither hurt nor troubled them.
Etymology
The adjective is derived from Middle English moist, moiste [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman moist, moiste, moste, Middle French moiste, and Old French moiste, muste (“damp, moist, wet”) (modern French moite); further etymology uncertain, perhaps a blend of a Late Latin variant of Latin mūcidus (“mouldy, musty”) + a Late Latin derivative of Latin mustum (“unfermented or partially fermented grape juice or wine, must”). The noun is derived from the adjective.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- miost
- mmoist
- moisst
- moistt
- moits
- mosit
- omist
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of moist - 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.
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "moist"?
What does "moist" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "moist"?
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "moist", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "moist". Here's where to go from here.
- "moist" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "MoS". View pair
- 7 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #11,421 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "M" letter cohort. M–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.