muse
/mjuz/noun, verb
muse is spelled M-U-S-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 3.9 times per million words in written English, the 13,127th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, muse means “Of a person: a source of inspiration” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of muse is muses; Wiktionary also lists Musae (rare).
How many letters and syllables are in muse?
| Letters | 4: M-U-S-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.9 times per million words; the 13,127th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is muse?
Muse appears 3.9 times per million words in written English, the 13,127th 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 muse?
- UK /mjuːz/
- US /mjuz/
- Australia /mjʉːz/
Muse has one syllable (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). Recordings: En-us-muse.ogg, En-au-muse.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with muse
Sounds like: Meuse, mews (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with muse?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as muse from its last stressed vowel (/uz/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of muse
- muses plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- musing participle, present
- mused participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does muse mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Of a person: a source of inspiration.
Yoko Ono was John Lennon's wife, lover, and muse.
- 2
archaicA poet; a bard.
- 3
An act of musing; a period of thoughtfulness.
He fell into a muse and pulled his upper lip.
- 4
A gap or hole in a hedge, fence, etc. through which a wild animal is accustomed to pass; a muset.
Find a hare without a muse. (old proverb)
verb
- 1
To become lost in thought, to ponder.
- 2
To say (something) with due consideration or thought.
For quotations using this term, see Citations:muse.
- 3
To think on; to meditate on.
- 4
To wonder at.
noun
- 1
One of the nine Ancient Greek deities of the arts.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Muse in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | muse, égérie , songer , Muse |
| German | Muse , grübeln, nachsinnen, sinnieren , nachdenklich sagen |
| Portuguese | musa , divagar |
| Spanish | musa, numen, estro , Musa , cavilar, meditar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does muse come from?
From Middle French muse, from Latin Mūsa, from Ancient Greek Μοῦσα (Moûsa).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).