moss
/mɔs/noun, verb
moss is spelled M-O-S-S: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 7.8 times per million words in written English, the 8,417th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, moss means “Any of various small, green, seedless plants growing on the ground or on the surfaces of trees, stones, etc.; now specifically, a plant of the phylum…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of moss is mosses.
How many letters and syllables are in moss?
| Letters | 4: M-O-S-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 7.8 times per million words; the 8,417th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is moss?
Moss appears 7.8 times per million words in written English, the 8,417th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce moss?
- UK /mɒs/
- US /mɔs/
- /mɑs/
Moss has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-moss.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with moss?
7 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as moss from its last stressed vowel (/ɔs/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of moss
- mosses plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- mossing participle, present
- mossed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does moss mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any of various small, green, seedless plants growing on the ground or on the surfaces of trees, stones, etc.; now specifically, a plant of the phylum Bryophyta (formerly division Musci).
- 2
A kind or species of such plants.
- 3
informalAny alga, lichen, bryophyte, or other plant of seemingly simple structure.
Spanish moss
- 4
UKA bog; a fen.
the mosses of the Scottish border
- 5
slangA spectacular catch made over 1 or multiple defenders, typically a jump ball.
Bro, that moss was insane!
verb
- 1
To become covered with moss.
An oak whose boughs were mossed with age.
- 2
To cover (something) with moss.
- 3
slangTo make a spectacular catch over 1 or multiple defenders.
You just got mossed!
- 4
slangTo relax, chill out.
noun
- 1
Acronym of MIME Object Security Services.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Moss in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does moss come from?
From Middle English mos, from Old English mos (“bog, marsh, moss”), from Proto-West Germanic *mos, from Proto-Germanic *musą (“bog, moss”), from Proto-Indo-European *mews- (“moss”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).