mound

/maʊnd/

//maʊnd// noun

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

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

The verdict

“mound” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,021. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,021
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An artificial hill or elevation of earth; a raised bank; an embankment thrown up for defense

Corpus desk

Index EN-mound · mound · English

mound · rank #13,021 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #13,021
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH motivate

Nearest frequency peer: motivate (-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 neighbourhood for “mound”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “mound” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

mound vs MUD
0% similar
mound vs mun
60% similar
mound vs muni
60% similar

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

Key facts for mound
PropertyValue
Headwordmound
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/maʊnd/
Letters5
Frequency rank#13,021
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “mound” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). mound lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around mound (IPA /maʊnd/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #13,021 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 10 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for mound, with forms such as "mmound", "monud", and "moudn". 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, "MUD", "mun", "muni", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From earlier meaning "hedge, fence", from Middle English mound, mund (“protection, boundary, raised earthen rampart”), from Old English mund (“hand, hand of protection, protector, guardianship”), from Proto-West Germanic *mundu, from Proto-Germanic *mundō (… The correct English form is mound, spelled M-O-U-N-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    An artificial hill or elevation of earth; a raised bank; an embankment thrown up for defense
  2. 2
    A natural elevation appearing as if thrown up artificially; a regular and isolated hill, hillock, or knoll.
  3. 3
    Elevated area of dirt upon which the pitcher stands to pitch.
  4. 4
    A ball or globe forming part of the regalia of an emperor or other sovereign. It is encircled with bands, enriched with precious stones, and surmounted with a cross.
  5. 5
    The mons veneris.
  6. 6
    A hand.
  7. 7
    A protection; restraint; curb.
  8. 8
    A helmet.
  9. 9
    Might; size.
  10. 10
    a large amount of something.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. The pitcher was waiting at the mound.

Etymology

From earlier meaning "hedge, fence", from Middle English mound, mund (“protection, boundary, raised earthen rampart”), from Old English mund (“hand, hand of protection, protector, guardianship”), from Proto-West Germanic *mundu, from Proto-Germanic *mundō (“hand”), *munduz (“protection, patron”), from Proto-Indo-European *mh₂-nt-éh₂ (“the beckoning one”), from *(s)meh₂- (“to beckon”). Cognate with Old Frisian mund (“guardianship”), Middle Dutch mond (“protection”), Old High German munt (“hand, protection”) German Mündel (“ward”), Vormund (“guardian”)), Icelandic and Old Norse mund (“hand”), and possibly Latin manus (“hand”), Ancient Greek μάρη (márē, “hand”). Not related to mount.

Synonyms

globus crucigerglobeorb

This word in other languages

túmulo(Español)butte(Français)Erdhügel(Deutsch)pilha(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • mmound
  • monud
  • moudn
  • moundd
  • mounnd
  • muond
  • omund

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of mound - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

mmound1monud2moudn2moundd1mounnd1muond2omund2
Edit distance from "mound"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "mound"?
"mound" is spelled M-O-U-N-D. The IPA pronunciation is /maʊnd/.
What does "mound" mean?
As a noun, "mound" means: An artificial hill or elevation of earth; a raised bank; an embankment thrown up for defense
What words are commonly confused with "mound"?
"mound" is commonly confused with "MUD", "mun", "muni". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "mound"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mound" is /maʊnd/. 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 "mound"?
From earlier meaning "hedge, fence", from Middle English mound, mund (“protection, boundary, raised earthen rampart”), from Old English mund (“hand, hand of protection, protector, guardianship”), from Proto-West Germanic *mundu, from Proto-Germani... 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 "mound", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

muddy#13,022prick#13,043Sammy#13,053fetus#12,977

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

Norris7 variantsIsaiah7 variantsquarry7 variantshotter7 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "mound". Here's where to go from here.

  • "mound" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "MUD". View pair
  • 7 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #13,021 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "M" letter cohort. M–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list