# motto

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈmɑ.toʊ/ · frequency rank #10,890

## Definitions
1. A personal slogan.
2. A sentence, phrase, or word, forming part of an heraldic achievement.
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. A paper packet containing a sweetmeat, cracker, etc., together with a scrap of paper bearing a motto.

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

## Easily confused with
- **mutt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/motto-vs-mutt)
- **mouth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/motto-vs-mouth)
- **mutton** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/motto-vs-mutton)
- **moo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moo-vs-motto)
- **mot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mot-vs-motto)
- **most** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/most-vs-motto)
- **matt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/matt-vs-motto)
- **moth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moth-vs-motto)
- **mont** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mont-vs-motto)
- **moto** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moto-vs-motto)
- **mitt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mitt-vs-motto)
- **mojo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mojo-vs-motto)
- **moot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moot-vs-motto)
- **moat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moat-vs-motto)
- **mort** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mort-vs-motto)
- **momo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/momo-vs-motto)
- **mott** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mott-vs-motto)
- **Moro** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moro-vs-motto)
- **mote** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mote-vs-motto)
- **mofo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mofo-vs-motto)

## Common misspellings (4)
`mmotto`, `motot`, `mtoto`, `omtto`

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