# mulligan

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈmʌlɪɡən/ · frequency rank #26,178

## Definitions
1. Ellipsis of mulligan stew.
2. An unpenalized chance to re-take a stroke that went awry.
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.

## 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.

## Easily confused with
- **Milligan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/milligan-vs-mulligan)

## Common misspellings (10)
`mluligan`, `mmulligan`, `muligan`, `mulilgan`, `mullgian`, `mulliagn`, `mulligann`, `mulliggan`, `mulligna`, `umlligan`

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