moist
/mɔɪst/
"moist" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“moist” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #11,421 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #11,421
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Characterized by the presence of moisture; not dry; slightly wet; damp.
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
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for moist is 5 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /mɔɪst/. Corpus data places it at rank #11,421 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
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.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “moist”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-O-I-S-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /mɔɪst/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “MoS” - see the side-by-side comparison. moist vs MoS
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.