# moth

> English word · Noun · IPA /mɒθ/ · frequency rank #15,005

## Definitions
1. Any flying insect of the order Lepidoptera not in the superfamily Papilionoidea, most species of which are nocturnal and can be distinguished from butterflies by feather-like antennae.
2. Anything that gradually and silently eats, consumes, or wastes any other thing.

## Etymology
From Middle English moth, moththe, motthe, moght, mohþe, mouȝte, from Old English moþþe, mohþe, mohþa (“any destructive insect larva”), from Proto-West Germanic *moþþō, *mottō, from Proto-Germanic *muþþô, *muttô (“moth, worm”), from Proto-Indo-European *mutn-, *mut- (“worm”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Motte (“moth”), West Frisian mot (“moth”), Dutch mot (“moth”), German Low German Motte, Mott (“moth”), German Motte (“moth”), Swedish mott (“moth”) and Norwegian Nynorsk mott (“moth”).

## Easily confused with
- **MT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moth-vs-mt)
- **mph** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moth-vs-mph)
- **MTV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moth-vs-mtv)
- **mou** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moth-vs-mou)
- **mow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moth-vs-mow)
- **MTA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moth-vs-mta)
- **MST** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moth-vs-mst)
- **MRT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moth-vs-mrt)
- **muh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moth-vs-muh)
- **Moz** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moth-vs-moz)
- **much** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moth-vs-much)
- **move** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moth-vs-move)
- **myth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moth-vs-myth)
- **mute** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moth-vs-mute)
- **moto** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moth-vs-moto)
- **mott** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moth-vs-mott)
- **mush** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moth-vs-mush)
- **mutt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moth-vs-mutt)
- **moya** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moth-vs-moya)
- **mouth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moth-vs-mouth)

## Common misspellings (6)
`mmoth`, `moht`, `mothh`, `motth`, `mtoh`, `omth`

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