muskrat

/ˈmʌskɹæt/

//ˈmʌskɹæt// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"muskrat" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“muskrat” is uncommon English (frequency #58,873 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#58,873
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A semiaquatic rodent of the tribe Ondatrini.

Corpus desk

Index EN-muskrat · muskrat · English

muskrat · rank #58,873 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #58,873
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH Muscovite

Nearest frequency peer: Muscovite (-1 rank slots)

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.

Long-tail ranks near “muskrat”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “muskrat” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for muskrat
PropertyValue
Headwordmuskrat
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmʌskɹæt/
Letters7
Frequency rank#58,873
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “muskrat” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).muskratfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Muscovite” (#58,872), “mutable” (#58,874), “Murmansk” (#58,871). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “muskrat” is #58,873. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

muskrat is uncommon English at frequency #58,873 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈmʌskɹæt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

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

  1. 1
    A semiaquatic rodent of the tribe Ondatrini.
  2. 2
    Any of several shrews in the family Soricidae, especially an Asian house shrew (Suncus murinus).
  3. 3
    A bandicoot rat.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how muskrat appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. 1865, Henry David Thoreau, Cape Cod, Chapter IX. "The Sea and the Desert", page 187. He also said that minks, muskrats, foxes, coons, and wild mice were found there, but no squirrels.
  2. Later, dozing in the lamplight, he saw muskrats everywhere. Their small supple forms slipped busily along the floor at dusk, continually perfecting their burrows. He saw them pulling soft weeds and holding juicy roots in their tiny paws to eat.

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

rat musqué(Français)Bisamratte(Deutsch)

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

How do you spell "muskrat"?
"muskrat" is spelled M-U-S-K-R-A-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmʌskɹæt/.
What does "muskrat" mean?
As a noun, "muskrat" means: A semiaquatic rodent of the tribe Ondatrini.
How do you pronounce "muskrat"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "muskrat" is /ˈmʌskɹæt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "muskrat"?
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. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "muskrat", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

mutable#58,874moneyed#58,863Meriden#58,843outsold#58,910

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list