moon

/muːn/

//muːn// name

"moon" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“moon” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #2,048 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.

#2,048
frequency rank, English
4
letters
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Alternative letter-case form of Moon (“the Earth's only permanent natural satellite”).

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

moon vs MoS
25% similar
moon vs mop
50% similar
moon vs MOR
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for moon
PropertyValue
Headwordmoon
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/muːn/
Letters4
Frequency rank#2,048
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “moon” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). moon lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for moon is 4 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /muːn/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,048 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Alternative letter-case form of Moon (“the Earth's only permanent natural satellite”).".

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for moon, with forms such as "mmoon", "mono", and "moonn". 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", "mop", "MOR", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English mone, from Old English mōna (“moon”), from Proto-West Germanic *mānō, from Proto-Germanic *mēnô (“moon”), from Proto-Indo-European *mḗh₁n̥s (“moon, month”), probably from *meh₁- (“to measure”). cognates and doublets Cognate with Scots mo… The correct English form is moon, spelled M-O-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Alternative letter-case form of Moon (“the Earth's only permanent natural satellite”).

Etymology

From Middle English mone, from Old English mōna (“moon”), from Proto-West Germanic *mānō, from Proto-Germanic *mēnô (“moon”), from Proto-Indo-European *mḗh₁n̥s (“moon, month”), probably from *meh₁- (“to measure”). cognates and doublets Cognate with Scots mone, mune, muin (“moon”), North Frisian muun (“moon”), Saterland Frisian Moune (“moon”), West Frisian moanne (“moon”), Dutch maan (“moon”), German Mond (“moon”), Danish måne (“moon”), Norwegian Bokmål måne (“moon”), Norwegian Nynorsk måne (“moon”), Swedish måne (“moon”), Faroese máni (“moon”), Icelandic máni (“moon”), Latin mēnsis (“month”). See also month, a related term within Indo-European. The usage of "moon" to refer to the act reflected its use as a metaphor for the buttocks since 1743. It was popularised from American student slang in the 1960s.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: mmoon,mono,moonn,omon

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of moon - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

mmoon1mono2moonn1omon2
Edit distance from "moon"

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 "moon"?
"moon" is spelled M-O-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /muːn/.
What does "moon" mean?
As a proper noun, "moon" means: Alternative letter-case form of Moon (“the Earth's only permanent natural satellite”).
What words are commonly confused with "moon"?
"moon" is commonly confused with "MoS", "mop", "MOR". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "moon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "moon" is /muːn/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "moon"?
From Middle English mone, from Old English mōna (“moon”), from Proto-West Germanic *mānō, from Proto-Germanic *mēnô (“moon”), from Proto-Indo-European *mḗh₁n̥s (“moon, month”), probably from *meh₁- (“to measure”). cognates and doublets Cognate wit... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “moon”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is M-O-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /muːn/ (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. moon 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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list