mussel
/ˈmʌsəl/noun
mussel is spelled M-U-S-S-E-L: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 39,832nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, mussel means “A saltwater mussel, usually edible, of the order Mytilida in subclass Pteriomorphia” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of mussel is mussels.
How many letters and syllables are in mussel?
| Letters | 6: M-U-S-S-E-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 39,832nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like |
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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is mussel?
Mussel appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 39,832nd 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 mussel?
- US /ˈmʌsəl/
Mussel 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: En-us-mussel.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with mussel
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: muscle (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of mussel
- mussels plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does mussel mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A saltwater mussel, usually edible, of the order Mytilida in subclass Pteriomorphia.
- 2
A freshwater mussel, usually edible, of the order Unionida in subclass Palaeoheterodonta.
- 3
Any of certain other bivalves of somewhat similar appearance, such as the zebra mussel and quagga mussel of the family Dreissenidae in subclass Heterodonta.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Mussel in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | moule , moule d’eau douce |
| German | Muschel, Miesmuschel , Teichmuschel, Süßwassermuschel |
| Portuguese | mexilhão |
| Spanish | mejillón, choro, mítulo, mocejón, cholga, cholgua |
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 mussel come from?
From Middle English muscle (“mussel”), from Old English muscle, from Proto-West Germanic *muskulā, from Late Latin muscula, from Latin mūsculus (“mussel, muscle”, literally “little mouse”). Doublet of muscle.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).