# muffin

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈmʌfɪn/ · frequency rank #18,373

## Definitions
1. A type of flattish bun, usually cut in two horizontally, toasted and spread with butter, etc., before being eaten.
2. A cupcake-shaped baked good (for example of cornbread, banana bread, or a chocolate dough), sometimes glazed but typically without frosting, eaten especially for breakfast (in contrast to a cupcake, which is a dessert).
3. Term of endearment.
4. The vulva or vagina; pubic hair around it.
5. A less talented player; one who muffs, or drops the ball.
6. A charming, attractive young man.
7. A small plate, smaller than a twiffler.
8. A roll, bap or cob, which may or may not be flat or toasted.
9. A very weak shot in ice hockey where the puck does not travel fast.
10. A young woman who would regularly accompany a particular man during a social season.
11. A mechanism used in the Java Network Launching Protocol analogous to the cookie mechanism and which permits a program running in a browser to perform operations on a client machine.

## Etymology
From earlier moofin, probably a diminutive of Low German Muffe ("small cake"; Muffen (plural)), from Middle Low German muffe (“small pastry”). An alternative, and phonologically less plausible theory suggests a connection to Old French (pain) moflet (“roll”, literally “soft (bread)”). Sense “vulva” influenced by muff.

## Easily confused with
- **mufti** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/muffin-vs-mufti)
- **muslin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/muffin-vs-muslin)
- **muff** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/muff-vs-muffin)
- **Mifflin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mifflin-vs-muffin)

## Common misspellings (7)
`mfufin`, `mmuffin`, `muffinn`, `muffni`, `mufifn`, `mufin`, `umffin`

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