Mrs
/ˈmɪsɪz/
"mrs" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Mrs” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #1,372) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.
- #1,372
- frequency rank, English
- 4,057
- “M” headwords
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Abbreviation of Missus or Mistress; used before an adult woman's name or surname, used for any high-status woman without regard to marital status until the 1800s, after which it began to be reserve...
Corpus desk
Index EN-mrs · Mrs · English
Mrs · rank #1,372 · 0 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #1,372
- LEN-MID 3 letters
- VOW-0 0 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,057
- PHOTO-FINISH male
Nearest frequency peer: male (-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 “Mrs”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- Japan
Japan
98,632 corpus weight
- laws
laws
98,631 corpus weight
- male
male
98,630 corpus weight
- Mrs
Mrs
98,629 corpus weight
- parties
parties
98,628 corpus weight
- plant
plant
98,627 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “Mrs” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Mrs |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈmɪsɪz/ |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #1,372 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Mrs” sits in English frequency
Easy to mix with look-alikes
The spelling risk for Mrs is neighbouring look-alikes ("my", "MS", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /ˈmɪsɪz/. Frequency #1,372 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Gloss: "Abbreviation of Missus or Mistress; used before an adult woman's name or surname, used for any high-status woman without regard to marital status until the 1800s, after which it began to be reserve...".
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for Mrs, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "my", "MS", "MT", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From mistress. The correct English form is Mrs, spelled M-R-S.
Definition
- 1Abbreviation of Missus or Mistress; used before an adult woman's name or surname, used for any high-status woman without regard to marital status until the 1800s, after which it began to be reserved for married, divorced and widowed women and used with their married surnames.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how Mrs appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Mrs Mal[aprop]. O, there's nothing to be hoped for from her! ſhe's as headſtrong as an allegory on the banks of the Nile.
In a large bedroom upstairs, the window of which was thickly curtained with a great woollen shawl lately discarded by the landlady, Mrs. Rolliver, were gathered on this evening nearly a dozen persons, all seeking vinous bliss; all old inhabitants of the nearer end of Marlott, and frequenters of this retreat.
Etymology
From mistress.
This word in other languages
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Mrs", not the corpus desk frequency band.
What to do next
You've looked up "Mrs". Here's where to go from here.
- "Mrs" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "my". View pair
- Usage frequency rank #1,372 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.