mousse

/muːs/

//muːs// noun

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

"mousse" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“mousse” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #30,508 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#30,508
frequency rank, English
6
letters
5
tracked misspellings
8
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An airy pudding served chilled, particularly chocolate mousse.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

mousse vs muse
67% similar
mousse vs mussel
67% similar
mousse vs moss
67% similar

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

Key facts for mousse
PropertyValue
Headwordmousse
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/muːs/
Letters6
Frequency rank#30,508
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs8
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “mousse” 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). mousse 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 mousse is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /muːs/. Corpus data places it at rank #30,508 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for mousse, with forms such as "mmousse", "mosuse", and "mouses". 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 8 confusable-pair relationships, "muse", "mussel", "moss", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French mousse (“foam, froth”), from Old French mosse (“moss”), from Frankish or Old Dutch *mosa (“moss”), from Proto-Germanic *musą (“moss, bog, marsh”). More at moss. The correct English form is mousse, spelled M-O-U-S-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    An airy pudding served chilled, particularly chocolate mousse.
  2. 2
    A savory dish, of meat or seafood, containing gelatin.
  3. 3
    A styling cream used for hair.
  4. 4
    A stable emulsion of water and oil that is created by wave action churning the water where an oil spill occurs.

Etymology

From French mousse (“foam, froth”), from Old French mosse (“moss”), from Frankish or Old Dutch *mosa (“moss”), from Proto-Germanic *musą (“moss, bog, marsh”). More at moss.

This word in other languages

espuma(Español)mousse(Français)Schaumfestiger(Deutsch)musse(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: mmousse,mosuse,mouses,muosse,omusse

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

mmousse1mosuse2mouses2muosse2omusse2
Edit distance from "mousse"

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 "mousse"?
"mousse" is spelled M-O-U-S-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /muːs/.
What does "mousse" mean?
As a noun, "mousse" means: An airy pudding served chilled, particularly chocolate mousse.
What words are commonly confused with "mousse"?
"mousse" is commonly confused with "muse", "mussel", "moss". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "mousse"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mousse" is /muːs/. 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 "mousse"?
From French mousse (“foam, froth”), from Old French mosse (“moss”), from Frankish or Old Dutch *mosa (“moss”), from Proto-Germanic *musą (“moss, bog, marsh”). More at moss. 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 “mousse”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is M-O-U-S-S-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /muːs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “muse” - see the side-by-side comparison. mousse vs muse
  • 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