muss
/mʌs/verb, noun
muss is spelled M-U-S-S: 4 letters. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 57,423rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, muss means “To rumple, tousle or make (something) untidy” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in muss?
| Letters | 4: M-U-S-S |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 57,423rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is muss?
Muss appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 57,423rd 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 muss?
- /mʌs/
- /mʊs/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-muss.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of muss
- musses present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- mussing participle, present
- mussed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does muss mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To rumple, tousle or make (something) untidy.
The old man affectionately mussed his grandson's hair.
noun
- 1
A mess (disagreeable mixture or confusion of things; disorder).
- 2
obsoleteA scramble, as when small objects are thrown down, to be taken by those who can seize them; a confused struggle.
- 3
obsoleteA term of endearment.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Muss in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense rumple:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | durcheinander bringen |
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 muss come from?
Related to mess (“disorder”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).