moly
/ˈməʊli/
"moly" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“moly” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #36,676 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #36,676
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 5
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A magic herb or plant used by Odysseus to overcome Circe.
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 | moly |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈməʊli/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #36,676 |
| Misspellings tracked | 5 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “moly” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for moly is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈməʊli/. Corpus data places it at rank #36,676 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for moly, with forms such as "mloy", "mmoly", and "molyy". 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, "my", "mom", "mon", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin mōly, from Ancient Greek μῶλυ (môlu) (probably a loanword). The correct English form is moly, spelled M-O-L-Y.
Definition
- 1A magic herb or plant used by Odysseus to overcome Circe.
- 2Any plant associated with the mythological moly, especially the European allium, Allium moly.
Etymology
From Latin mōly, from Ancient Greek μῶλυ (môlu) (probably a loanword).
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: mloy,mmoly,molyy,moyl,omly
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of moly - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "moly"?
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Using “moly”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-O-L-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈməʊli/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “my” - see the side-by-side comparison. moly vs my
- 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.