# molasses

> English word · Noun · IPA /məˈlæsɪz/ · frequency rank #29,000

## Definitions
1. A thick, sweet syrup drained from sugarcane, especially (Canada, US) the still thicker and sweeter syrup produced by boiling down raw molasses.
2. Any similarly thick and sweet syrup produced by boiling down fruit juices, tree saps, etc., especially concentrated maple syrup.
3. Anything considered figuratively sweet, especially sweet words.
4. Something which moves or works extremely slowly.
5. plural of molass: whiskey made from molasses.
6. Synonym of molass: whiskey made from molasses.

## Etymology
From Portuguese melaços or Spanish melazos, from Late Latin mellacium (“must, honey-sweet thing”), from mel (“honey”) + -āceus (“-aceous”) + -ium, q.v. Some alternative forms derived or influenced by Spanish melaza and French mélasse, conjectured to derive from unattested Late Latin mellacea, from mel + -ācea.

## Easily confused with
- **masses** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/masses-vs-molasses)

## Common misspellings (10)
`mloasses`, `mmolasses`, `moalsses`, `molases`, `molasess`, `molassess`, `molassse`, `mollasses`, `molsases`, `omlasses`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/molasses