mucous

/ˈmjuːkəs/

//ˈmjuːkəs// adj

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

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

The verdict

“mucous” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #38,982. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#38,982
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Pertaining to mucus.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mucous · mucous · English

mucous · rank #38,982 · 8 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #38,982
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH Mulholland

Nearest frequency peer: Mulholland (+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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “mucous”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “mucous” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

mucous vs mucus
83% similar
mucous vs macOS
33% similar
mucous vs mucosa
67% similar

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

Key facts for mucous
PropertyValue
Headwordmucous
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈmjuːkəs/
Letters6
Frequency rank#38,982
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “mucous”

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).mucouslands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Mulholland” (#38,983), “murmuring” (#38,984), “mountainside” (#38,979). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “mucous” is #38,982. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around mucous (IPA /ˈmjuːkəs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #38,982 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for mucous, with forms such as "mcuous", "mmucous", and "muccous". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "mucus", "macOS", "mucosa", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Naturalized from Late Latin mūcōsus, from Latin mūcus. By surface analysis, muc(us) + -ous = muco- + -ous. The correct English form is mucous, spelled M-U-C-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Pertaining to mucus.
  2. 2
    Having the qualities of mucus; resembling mucus.

Etymology

Naturalized from Late Latin mūcōsus, from Latin mūcus. By surface analysis, muc(us) + -ous = muco- + -ous.

This word in other languages

muqueux(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • mcuous
  • mmucous
  • muccous
  • mucosu
  • mucouss
  • mucuos
  • muocus
  • umcous

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

mcuous2mmucous1muccous1mucosu2mucouss1mucuos2muocus2umcous2
Edit distance from "mucous"

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 "mucous"?
"mucous" is spelled M-U-C-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmjuːkəs/.
What does "mucous" mean?
As an adjective, "mucous" means: Pertaining to mucus.
What words are commonly confused with "mucous"?
"mucous" is commonly confused with "mucus", "macOS", "mucosa". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "mucous"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mucous" is /ˈmjuːkəs/. 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 "mucous"?
Naturalized from Late Latin mūcōsus, from Latin mūcus. By surface analysis, muc(us) + -ous = muco- + -ous. 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 "mucous", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

mythos#38,987misfit#38,970Obamas#38,998pariah#39,017

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

offload8 variantslingua8 variantsleaner8 variantspillage8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list