# moss

> English word · Noun · IPA /mɒs/ · frequency rank #8,459

## Definitions
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. Any alga, lichen, bryophyte, or other plant of seemingly simple structure.
4. A bog; a fen.
5. A spectacular catch made over 1 or multiple defenders, typically a jump ball.

## Etymology
From Middle English mos, from Old English mos (“bog, marsh, moss”), from Proto-West Germanic *mos (“marsh, moss”), from Proto-Germanic *musą (“marsh, moss”), from Proto-Indo-European *mews- (“moss”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Moas (“moss”), West Frisian moas (“moss”), Dutch mos (“moss”), German Low German Moss (“moss”), German Moos (which shows the same polysemy of "moss" and "bog, fen"), Danish mos (“moss”), Swedish mossa (“moss”), Icelandic mosi (“moss”), Latin muscus (“moss”), Russian мох (mox, “moss”), Polish mech. Doublet of mousse.

## Easily confused with
- **MS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moss-vs-ms)
- **Mrs** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moss-vs-mrs)
- **MPS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moss-vs-mps)
- **MSM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moss-vs-msm)
- **MSG** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moss-vs-msg)
- **mou** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moss-vs-mou)
- **mot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moss-vs-mot)
- **mow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moss-vs-mow)
- **MSP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moss-vs-msp)
- **MSN** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moss-vs-msn)
- **MSA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moss-vs-msa)
- **MSI** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moss-vs-msi)
- **MSF** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moss-vs-msf)
- **MST** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moss-vs-mst)
- **Mss** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moss-vs-mss)
- **Moz** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moss-vs-moz)
- **most** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moss-vs-most)
- **must** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moss-vs-must)
- **move** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moss-vs-move)
- **muse** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moss-vs-muse)

## Common misspellings (3)
`mmoss`, `msos`, `omss`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/moss