mousy

/ˈmaʊsi/

//ˈmaʊsi// adj

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

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

The verdict

“mousy” is uncommon English (frequency #94,010 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#94,010
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Resembling a mouse.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mousy · mousy · English

mousy · rank #94,010 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #94,010
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH mixologist

Nearest frequency peer: mixologist (-5 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.

Long-tail ranks near “mousy”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “mousy” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for mousy
PropertyValue
Headwordmousy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈmaʊsi/
Letters5
Frequency rank#94,010
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “mousy” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).mousyfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “mixologist” (#94,005), “multipolar” (#94,017), “millwright” (#94,000). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “mousy” is #94,010. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

mousy is uncommon English at frequency #94,010 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈmaʊsi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

mousy has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From mouse + -y (forms adjectives from nouns). The correct English form is mousy, spelled M-O-U-S-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Resembling a mouse.
  2. 2
    Resembling a mouse.
  3. 3
    Resembling a mouse.
  4. 4
    Resembling a mouse.
  5. 5
    Abounding in or infested with mice.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Near-synonyms: mouselike, murine
  2. It's a god-awful small affair To the girl with the mousy hair

Etymology

From mouse + -y (forms adjectives from nouns).

This word in other languages

mausgrau(Deutsch)

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 "mousy"?
"mousy" is spelled M-O-U-S-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmaʊsi/.
What does "mousy" mean?
As an adjective, "mousy" means: Resembling a mouse.
How do you pronounce "mousy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mousy" is /ˈmaʊsi/. 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 "mousy"?
From mouse + -y (forms adjectives from nouns). 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 "mousy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

nanga#94,028Melfi#93,983NIAID#94,049nulla#94,065

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list