moraine

/məˈɹeɪn/

//məˈɹeɪn// noun

"moraine" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“moraine” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #42,283 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#42,283
frequency rank, English
7
letters
9
tracked misspellings
9
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An accumulation of rocks and debris carried and deposited by a glacier.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

moraine vs Moran
57% similar
moraine vs Morin
57% similar
moraine vs morale
71% similar

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

Key facts for moraine
PropertyValue
Headwordmoraine
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/məˈɹeɪn/
Letters7
Frequency rank#42,283
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs9
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “moraine” 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). moraine 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 moraine is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /məˈɹeɪn/. Corpus data places it at rank #42,283 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "An accumulation of rocks and debris carried and deposited by a glacier.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for moraine, with forms such as "mmoraine", "moarine", and "moraien". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 9 confusable-pair relationships, "Moran", "Morin", "morale", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French moraine, from Savoyard Italian morena, from Franco-Provençal mor, morre (“muzzle, snout”), from Vulgar Latin *murrum. Compare morion. The correct English form is moraine, spelled M-O-R-A-I-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    An accumulation of rocks and debris carried and deposited by a glacier.

Etymology

From French moraine, from Savoyard Italian morena, from Franco-Provençal mor, morre (“muzzle, snout”), from Vulgar Latin *murrum. Compare morion.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: mmoraine,moarine,moraien,morainne,moranie,moriane,morraine,mroaine,omraine

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

mmoraine1moarine2moraien2morainne1moranie2moriane2morraine1mroaine2
Edit distance from "moraine"

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 "moraine"?
"moraine" is spelled M-O-R-A-I-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /məˈɹeɪn/.
What does "moraine" mean?
As a noun, "moraine" means: An accumulation of rocks and debris carried and deposited by a glacier.
What words are commonly confused with "moraine"?
"moraine" is commonly confused with "Moran", "Morin", "morale". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "moraine"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "moraine" is /məˈɹeɪn/. 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 "moraine"?
From French moraine, from Savoyard Italian morena, from Franco-Provençal mor, morre (“muzzle, snout”), from Vulgar Latin *murrum. Compare morion. 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 “moraine”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is M-O-R-A-I-N-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /məˈɹeɪn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “Moran” - see the side-by-side comparison. moraine vs Moran
  • 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