muskrat
/ˈmʌskɹæt/noun
muskrat is spelled M-U-S-K-R-A-T: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 58,714th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, muskrat means “A semiaquatic rodent of the tribe Ondatrini” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of muskrat is muskrats.
How many letters and syllables are in muskrat?
| Letters | 7: M-U-S-K-R-A-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 58,714th 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 muskrat?
Muskrat appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 58,714th 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 muskrat?
- /ˈmʌskɹæt/
Muskrat has 2 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). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-muskrat.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with muskrat
Also written: musk-rat (one word or two).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of muskrat
- muskrats plural
- musk-rat
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does muskrat mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A semiaquatic rodent of the tribe Ondatrini.
- 2
Any of several shrews in the family Soricidae, especially an Asian house shrew (Suncus murinus).
- 3
obsoleteA bandicoot rat.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Muskrat in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | rat musqué |
| German | Bisamratte , Moschusspitzmaus |
| Portuguese | ondatra |
| Spanish | rata almizclera, rata almizclada, rata almizcleña |
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 muskrat come from?
Perhaps so called for its musky odour and because it resembles a rat, or perhaps called by an Algonquian name like the Abenaki moskwas, with the spelling altered under the influence of the English words musk and rat.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).