# mousse

> English word · Noun · IPA /muːs/ · frequency rank #30,508

## Definitions
1. An airy pudding served chilled, particularly chocolate mousse.
2. A savory dish, of meat or seafood, containing gelatin.
3. A styling cream used for hair.
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.

## Easily confused with
- **muse** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mousse-vs-muse)
- **mussel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mousse-vs-mussel)
- **moss** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moss-vs-mousse)
- **mouse** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mouse-vs-mousse)
- **moose** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moose-vs-mousse)
- **Morse** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/morse-vs-mousse)
- **Moshe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/moshe-vs-mousse)
- **mossy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mossy-vs-mousse)

## Common misspellings (5)
`mmousse`, `mosuse`, `mouses`, `muosse`, `omusse`

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