muskrat
/ˈmʌskɹæt/
"muskrat" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“muskrat” is an uncommon English word, ranked #58,873 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #58,873
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A semiaquatic rodent of the tribe Ondatrini.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | muskrat |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈmʌskɹæt/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #58,873 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “muskrat” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for muskrat is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈmʌskɹæt/. Corpus data places it at rank #58,873 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No generated misspelling entries exist for muskrat in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: 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. The correct English form is muskrat, spelled M-U-S-K-R-A-T.
Definition
- 1A semiaquatic rodent of the tribe Ondatrini.
- 2Any of several shrews in the family Soricidae, especially an Asian house shrew (Suncus murinus).
- 3A bandicoot rat.
Etymology
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.
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); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “muskrat”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-U-S-K-R-A-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈmʌskɹæt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.