motto

/ˈmɑ.toʊ/

//ˈmɑ.toʊ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"motto" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“motto” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #10,890) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#10,890
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A personal slogan.

Corpus desk

Index EN-motto · motto · English

motto · rank #10,890 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #10,890
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH monks

Nearest frequency peer: monks (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “motto”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “motto” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

motto vs mutt
60% similar
motto vs mouth
60% similar
motto vs mutton
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for motto
PropertyValue
Headwordmotto
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmɑ.toʊ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#10,890
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “motto”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).mottolands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “monks” (#10,889), “mouths” (#10,891), “miniature” (#10,888). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “motto” is #10,890. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for motto is neighbouring look-alikes ("mutt", "mouth", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /ˈmɑ.toʊ/. Frequency #10,890 among 4,057 “M” headwords. 4 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for motto, with forms such as "mmotto", "motot", and "mtoto". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "mutt", "mouth", "mutton", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Italian motto (“a word, a saying”), from Latin muttum (“a mutter, a grunt”), late 16th c. Doublet of mot. The correct English form is motto, spelled M-O-T-T-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    A personal slogan.
  2. 2
    A sentence, phrase, or word, forming part of an heraldic achievement.
  3. 3
    A sentence, phrase, or word, prefixed to an essay, discourse, chapter, canto, or the like, suggestive of its subject matter; a short, suggestive expression of a guiding principle; a maxim.
  4. 4
    A paper packet containing a sweetmeat, cracker, etc., together with a scrap of paper bearing a motto.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how motto appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. You have to be in it to win it — that's my motto.
  2. ‘Gentlemen, I can tell you what the new queen will take as her motto. It is Bound to Obey and Serve.’

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian motto (“a word, a saying”), from Latin muttum (“a mutter, a grunt”), late 16th c. Doublet of mot.

This word in other languages

mote(Español)devise(Français)Motto(Deutsch)lema(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • mmotto
  • motot
  • mtoto
  • omtto

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of motto - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

mmotto1motot2mtoto2omtto2
Edit distance from "motto"

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

How do you spell "motto"?
"motto" is spelled M-O-T-T-O. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmɑ.toʊ/.
What does "motto" mean?
As a noun, "motto" means: A personal slogan.
What words are commonly confused with "motto"?
"motto" is commonly confused with "mutt", "mouth", "mutton". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "motto"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "motto" is /ˈmɑ.toʊ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "motto"?
Borrowed from Italian motto (“a word, a saying”), from Latin muttum (“a mutter, a grunt”), late 16th c. Doublet of mot. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "motto", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

monks#10,889onset#10,900pixel#10,909props#10,912

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list