mulligan
/ˈmʌlɪɡən/noun
mulligan is spelled M-U-L-L-I-G-A-N: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,092nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, mulligan means “Ellipsis of mulligan stew” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of mulligan is mulligans.
How many letters and syllables are in mulligan?
| Letters | 8: M-U-L-L-I-G-A-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.2 times per million words; the 26,092nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is mulligan?
Mulligan appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,092nd 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 mulligan?
- /ˈmʌlɪɡən/
Mulligan has 3 syllables (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).
Forms of mulligan
- mulligans plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does mulligan mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Ellipsis of mulligan stew.
When we did, nobody was there, but we found two empty sleeping bags and some mulligan in a pot on a stove.
- 2
An unpenalized chance to re-take a stroke that went awry.
If you lose your drive in the water, take a mulligan and try again.
- 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
A second chance.
Don't do poorly in your first interview; you won't get a mulligan.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does mulligan come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).