mumbo jumbo
/mʌmbəʊˈdʒʌmbəʊ/
"mumbo-jumbo" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“mumbo jumbo” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A deity or other supernatural being said to have been worshipped by certain West African peoples; an idol.
Corpus desk
Index EN-mumbo-jumbo · mumbo jumbo · English
mumbo jumbo · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 11 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "M" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | mumbo jumbo |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /mʌmbəʊˈdʒʌmbəʊ/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “mumbo jumbo” in English
Rare enough to double-check
mumbo jumbo is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /mʌmbəʊˈdʒʌmbəʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for mumbo jumbo, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: Probably from Mandinka maamajomboo (“mask; masked dancer”); or perhaps from /l/-vocalization in the words mumble and jumble. The correct English form is mumbo jumbo, spelled M-U-M-B-O- -J-U-M-B-O.
Definition
- 1A deity or other supernatural being said to have been worshipped by certain West African peoples; an idol.
- 2Any object of superstition; religious words and/or actions which are seen as superstitious or fraudulent.
- 3Any confusing or meaningless speech; nonsense, gibberish.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how mumbo jumbo appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
So likewise a day comes when the Runic Thor, with his Eddas, must withdraw into dimness; and many an African Mumbo-Jumbo and Indian Pawpaw be utterly abolished.
Rev. Quack's healing services are little more than mumbo jumbo.
Etymology
Probably from Mandinka maamajomboo (“mask; masked dancer”); or perhaps from /l/-vocalization in the words mumble and jumble.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.