moonshine

/ˈmuːnʃaɪn/

//ˈmuːnʃaɪn// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"moonshine" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“moonshine” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #31,661. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#31,661
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The light of the moon.

Corpus desk

Index EN-moonshine · moonshine · English

moonshine · rank #31,661 · 13 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #31,661
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH Monsignor

Nearest frequency peer: Monsignor (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “moonshine”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “moonshine” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

moonshine vs moonstone
78% similar

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

Key facts for moonshine
PropertyValue
Headwordmoonshine
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmuːnʃaɪn/
Letters9
Frequency rank#31,661
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “moonshine”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).moonshinelands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Monsignor” (#31,660), “MSA” (#31,662), “modus” (#31,659). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “moonshine” is #31,661. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around moonshine (IPA /ˈmuːnʃaɪn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #31,661 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for moonshine, with forms such as "mmoonshine", "monoshine", and "monshine". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "moonstone", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English mone schyne, mone-schyne, moone shone; equivalent to moon + shine. Illegally distilled liquor is so named because its manufacture may be conducted without artificial light at night. The verb sense is a back-formation from moonshiner. The correct English form is moonshine, spelled M-O-O-N-S-H-I-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The light of the moon.
  2. 2
    High-proof alcohol (especially whiskey) that is often, but not always, produced illegally.
  3. 3
    Smuggled spirits, often with a specific sense; (Kent, Sussex) white brandy; (Yorkshire) gin.
  4. 4
    Nonsense.
  5. 5
    A branch of pure mathematics relating the Monster group to an invariant of elliptic functions.
  6. 6
    A spiced dish of eggs and fried onions.
  7. 7
    A month.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how moonshine appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. […] her Waggon Spokes made of long Spinners legs: the Couer of the wings of Graſhoppers, her Traces of the ſmalleſt Spiders web, her coullers of the Moonſhines watry Beames […]
  2. […] the newes coming every moment of the growth of the fire; so as we were forced to begin to pack up our owne goods; and prepare for their removal; and did by moonshine (it being brave dry, and moonshine, and warm weather) carry much of my goods into the garden […]

Etymology

From Middle English mone schyne, mone-schyne, moone shone; equivalent to moon + shine. Illegally distilled liquor is so named because its manufacture may be conducted without artificial light at night. The verb sense is a back-formation from moonshiner.

This word in other languages

Selbstgebrannter(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • mmoonshine
  • monoshine
  • monshine
  • moonhsine
  • moonnshine
  • moonshhine
  • moonshien
  • moonshinne
  • moonshnie
  • moonsihne
  • moonsshine
  • moosnhine
  • omonshine

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of moonshine - 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.

mmoonshine1monoshine2monshine1moonhsine2moonnshine1moonshhine1moonshien2moonshinne1
Edit distance from "moonshine"

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 "moonshine"?
"moonshine" is spelled M-O-O-N-S-H-I-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmuːnʃaɪn/.
What does "moonshine" mean?
As a noun, "moonshine" means: The light of the moon.
What words are commonly confused with "moonshine"?
"moonshine" is commonly confused with "moonstone". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "moonshine"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "moonshine" is /ˈmuːnʃaɪn/. 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 "moonshine"?
From Middle English mone schyne, mone-schyne, moone shone; equivalent to moon + shine. Illegally distilled liquor is so named because its manufacture may be conducted without artificial light at night. The verb sense is a back-formation from moons... 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "moonshine", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Monsignor#31,660midwifery#31,654normality#31,676Magdalene#31,645

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

politeness13 variantsibuprofen13 variantsRichland13 variantsscalable13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list