muff
/mʌf/noun, verb
muff is spelled M-U-F-F: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 41,660th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, muff means “A piece of fur or cloth, usually open at both ends, used to keep the hands warm” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of muff is muffs.
How many letters and syllables are in muff?
| Letters | 4: M-U-F-F |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 41,660th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is muff?
Muff appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 41,660th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce muff?
- US /mʌf/
- Australia /mɐf/
- /mʊf/
Muff has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-muff.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with muff?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as muff from its last stressed vowel (/ʌf/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of muff
- muffs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- muffing participle, present
- muffed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does muff mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A piece of fur or cloth, usually open at both ends, used to keep the hands warm.
- 2
slangvulgarThe vulva or vagina; pubic hair around it.
.
- 3
slangvulgarA woman or girl.
- 4
A blown cylinder of glass which is afterward flattened out to make a sheet.
- 5
The feathers sticking out from both sides of the face under the beak of some birds.
- 6
A short hollow cylinder surrounding an object such as a pipe.
- 7
colloquialA fool, a stupid or poor-spirited person.
- 8
slangAn error, a mistake; a failure to hold a ball when once in the hands.
- 9
A bird, the whitethroat.
- 10
slangA muffin.
- 11
rareslangA term of endearment.
verb
- 1
To drop or mishandle (the ball, a catch etc.); to play badly.
- 2
To mishandle; to bungle.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Muff in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does muff come from?
Probably from Dutch mof (“muff, mitten”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).