mote
/moʊt/noun
mote is spelled M-O-T-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,363rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “moat vs mote” about 50 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, mote means “A small particle; a speck” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of mote is motes.
How many letters and syllables are in mote?
| Letters | 4: M-O-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 45,363rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is mote?
Mote appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,363rd 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 mote?
- US /moʊt/
- UK /məʊt/
Mote 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-mote.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with mote
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: moat (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Also written: moth.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with mote?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as mote from its last stressed vowel (/oʊt/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: tome.
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 mote
- motes plural
- must participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does mote mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A small particle; a speck.
- 2
A tiny computer for remote sensing; a component element of smartdust.
- 3
obsoleteA meeting for discussion.
a wardmote in the city of London
- 4
obsoleteA body of persons who meet for discussion, especially about the management of affairs.
a folk mote
- 5
obsoleteA place of meeting for discussion.
verb
- 1
archaicMay or might.
- 2
obsoleteMust.
- 3
archaicForming subjunctive expressions of wish: may.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Mote in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense A small particle; a speck:
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 mote come from?
From Middle English mot, from Old English mot (“grain of sand; mote; atom”), from Proto-West Germanic *mot (“grain of dirt or sand, speck”). Perhaps linked to English mud. Compare West Frisian mot (“peat dust”), Dutch mot (“dust from turf; sawdust; grit”), Low German mut (“peat dust, grit”), Norwegian mutt (“speck; mote; splinter; chip”), Italian mota (“mud”), Spanish mota (“speck”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).