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” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #13,021 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#13,021
frequency rank, English
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An artificial hill or elevation of earth; a raised bank; an embankment thrown up for defense

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.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for mound is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /maʊnd/. Corpus data places it at rank #13,021 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

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.

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.

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.

Using “mound”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is M-O-U-N-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /maʊnd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “MUD” - see the side-by-side comparison. mound vs MUD
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list