mull

/mʌl/

//mʌl// verb

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

"mull" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“mull” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #31,263) as a verb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#31,263
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To work (over) mentally; to cogitate; to ruminate.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mull · mull · English

mull · rank #31,263 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #31,263
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH mushy

Nearest frequency peer: mushy (+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 “mull”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “mull” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

mull vs mum
50% similar
mull vs mun
50% similar
mull vs must
50% similar

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

Key facts for mull
PropertyValue
Headwordmull
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/mʌl/
Letters4
Frequency rank#31,263
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “mull” sits in English frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).mull lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for mull is neighbouring look-alikes ("mum", "mun", …), not just typos; it is averb pronounced /mʌl/. Frequency #31,263 among 4,057 “M” headwords. 6 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for mull, with forms such as "mlul", "mmull", and "mul". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "mum", "mun", "must", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English molle, mulle (“dust, rubbish”), possibly from Old English myl (“dust, mould”), from Proto-West Germanic *muli, a deverbal formation from *mulljan and thus cognate with Dutch mul (“dust, mould”), German Müll (“rubbish”), Swedish… The correct English form is mull, spelled M-U-L-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    To work (over) mentally; to cogitate; to ruminate.
  2. 2
    To powder; to pulverize.
  3. 3
    To chop marijuana so that it becomes a smokable form.
  4. 4
    To heat and spice something, such as wine.
  5. 5
    To join two or more individual windows at mullions.
  6. 6
    To dull or stupefy.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. to mull a thought or a problem
  2. he paused to mull over his various options before making a decision

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English molle, mulle (“dust, rubbish”), possibly from Old English myl (“dust, mould”), from Proto-West Germanic *muli, a deverbal formation from *mulljan and thus cognate with Dutch mul (“dust, mould”), German Müll (“rubbish”), Swedish moln (“cloud”) and related to English mill (“to grind”). Alternatively, from Middle French mol or its etymon Latin mollis (“soft”). Some verbal senses are supplied by Middle English mollen (“to soften, dissolve”), from Old French moillier, from Latin *molliāre (“to steep”), itself from mollis; compare moil.

This word in other languages

rumiar(Español)réfléchir(Français)erwägen(Deutsch)cogitar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • mlul
  • mmull
  • mul
  • umll

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of mull - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

mlul2mmull1mul1umll2
Edit distance from "mull"

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

How do you spell "mull"?
"mull" is spelled M-U-L-L. The IPA pronunciation is /mʌl/.
What does "mull" mean?
As a verb, "mull" means: To work (over) mentally; to cogitate; to ruminate.
What words are commonly confused with "mull"?
"mull" is commonly confused with "mum", "mun", "must". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "mull"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mull" is /mʌl/. 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 "mull"?
Inherited from Middle English molle, mulle (“dust, rubbish”), possibly from Old English myl (“dust, mould”), from Proto-West Germanic *muli, a deverbal formation from *mulljan and thus cognate with Dutch mul (“dust, mould”), German Müll (“rubbish”... 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 "mull", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

oust#31,281pena#31,287poof#31,296juve#31,228

What to do next

You've looked up "mull". Here's where to go from here.

  • "mull" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "mum". View pair
  • 4 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #31,263 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list