mulligan

/ˈmʌlɪɡən/

//ˈmʌlɪɡən// noun

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

"mulligan" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“mulligan” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #26,178. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#26,178
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Ellipsis of mulligan stew.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mulligan · mulligan · English

mulligan · rank #26,178 · 10 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #26,178
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH mullen

Nearest frequency peer: mullen (-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 “mulligan”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “mulligan” 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).

mulligan vs Milligan
75% similar

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

Key facts for mulligan
PropertyValue
Headwordmulligan
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmʌlɪɡən/
Letters8
Frequency rank#26,178
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “mulligan”

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).mulliganlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “mullen” (#26,177), “MP4” (#26,176), “munch” (#26,180). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “mulligan” is #26,178. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around mulligan (IPA /ˈmʌlɪɡən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #26,178 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for mulligan, with forms such as "mluligan", "mmulligan", and "muligan". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "Milligan", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Attested since the 1930s in the sense “chance to re-take a golf stroke”; probably from the name Mulligan, after a golfer who replayed a stroke. See Wikipedia for more information. The correct English form is mulligan, spelled M-U-L-L-I-G-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Ellipsis of mulligan stew.
  2. 2
    An unpenalized chance to re-take a stroke that went awry.
  3. 3
    An opportunity (sometimes penalized) for a player to reshuffle their cards and draw a new initial hand at the beginning of a game.
  4. 4
    A second chance.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. "I've got a mulligan on the stove upstairs," grinned Sloan, getting out of his chair.
  2. Another afternoon Dove jungled up with four others beside a creek.[…] A couple of the boys got a mulligan going. Dove lay naked in the creek smoking a cigarette and smelling the mulligan.

Etymology

Attested since the 1930s in the sense “chance to re-take a golf stroke”; probably from the name Mulligan, after a golfer who replayed a stroke. See Wikipedia for more information.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • mluligan
  • mmulligan
  • muligan
  • mulilgan
  • mullgian
  • mulliagn
  • mulligann
  • mulliggan
  • mulligna
  • umlligan

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

mluligan2mmulligan1muligan1mulilgan2mullgian2mulliagn2mulligann1mulliggan1
Edit distance from "mulligan"

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 "mulligan"?
"mulligan" is spelled M-U-L-L-I-G-A-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmʌlɪɡən/.
What does "mulligan" mean?
As a noun, "mulligan" means: Ellipsis of mulligan stew.
What words are commonly confused with "mulligan"?
"mulligan" is commonly confused with "Milligan". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "mulligan"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mulligan" is /ˈmʌlɪɡən/. 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 "mulligan"?
Attested since the 1930s in the sense “chance to re-take a golf stroke”; probably from the name Mulligan, after a golfer who replayed a stroke. See Wikipedia for more information. 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 "mulligan", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Montague#26,171neurotic#26,185Mayfield#26,160mackerel#26,154

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

Polaris10 variantsSchulz10 variantssentry10 variantsSheeran10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list