mosey
/ˈmoʊ.zi/
"mosey" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“mosey” is uncommon English (frequency #77,006 among 36,575 “M” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #77,006
- frequency rank, English
- 36,575
- “M” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To set off, get going; to start a journey.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | mosey |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈmoʊ.zi/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #77,006 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “mosey” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
mosey is uncommon English at frequency #77,006 among 36,575 “M” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈmoʊ.zi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for mosey in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: Unknown. Originally attested in Southern US dialects. Suggested origins include: * Spanish vamos (compare vamoose) * British dialectal mosey about (“walk around at leisurely pace”) * an Algonquian term for "walk" (compare Ojibwe bimose (“she or he walks alo… The correct English form is mosey, spelled M-O-S-E-Y.
Definition
- 1To set off, get going; to start a journey.
- 2To go off quickly: to hurry up.
- 3To amble; to walk or proceed in a leisurely manner.
Etymology
Unknown. Originally attested in Southern US dialects. Suggested origins include: * Spanish vamos (compare vamoose) * British dialectal mosey about (“walk around at leisurely pace”) * an Algonquian term for "walk" (compare Ojibwe bimose (“she or he walks along”)) * proper name Mosey, pet form of Moses, in reference to the biblical Exodus which he led
This word in other languages
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
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Using “mosey”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-O-S-E-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈmoʊ.zi/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.