mustard

/ˈmʌstəɹd/

//ˈmʌstəɹd// noun

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

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

The verdict

“mustard” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,428. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#11,428
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A plant of certain species of the genus Brassica, or of related genera (especially Sinapis alba, in the family Brassicaceae, with yellow flowers, and linear seed pods).

Corpus desk

Index EN-mustard · mustard · English

mustard · rank #11,428 · 11 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #11,428
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH mu

Nearest frequency peer: mu (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “mustard”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “mustard” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

mustard vs muster
71% similar
mustard vs mustang
71% similar
mustard vs Mustafa
57% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for mustard
PropertyValue
Headwordmustard
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmʌstəɹd/
Letters7
Frequency rank#11,428
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “mustard”

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).mustardlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “mu” (#11,427), “negatively” (#11,429), “mourning” (#11,426). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “mustard” is #11,428. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around mustard (IPA /ˈmʌstəɹd/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #11,428 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for mustard, with forms such as "mmustard", "msutard", and "musatrd". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "muster", "mustang", "Mustafa", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English mustard, from Old French moustarde (French moutarde), from moust (“must”), from Latin mustum. Compare Saterland Frisian Muster (“mustard”), Dutch mosterd (“mustard”), German Low German Musterd (“mustard”), Icelandic mustarður (“mustard”)… The correct English form is mustard, spelled M-U-S-T-A-R-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    A plant of certain species of the genus Brassica, or of related genera (especially Sinapis alba, in the family Brassicaceae, with yellow flowers, and linear seed pods).
  2. 2
    Powder or paste made from seeds of the mustard plant, and used as a condiment or a spice.
  3. 3
    The leaves of the mustard plant, used as a salad.
  4. 4
    Dark yellow colour, the colour of mustard.
  5. 5
    One of a family of vesicants containing one or more 2-chloroethyl (C₂H₄Cl) groups, commonly used in chemical warfare and cancer chemotherapy.
  6. 6
    The tomalley of a crab, which resembles the condiment.
  7. 7
    Ellipsis of mustard gas.
  8. 8
    Energy, power (when throwing a baseball).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. When the waitress brought the food, I asked whether she had any Dijon mustard.
  2. He loved having mustard and toast for breakfast.

Etymology

From Middle English mustard, from Old French moustarde (French moutarde), from moust (“must”), from Latin mustum. Compare Saterland Frisian Muster (“mustard”), Dutch mosterd (“mustard”), German Low German Musterd (“mustard”), Icelandic mustarður (“mustard”). Displaced Middle English senep, from Old English senep, from Latin sināpi (“mustard”). Sometimes mistakenly thought to come from Latin mustum ardens, but such a Latin phrase is not attested, and it is well understood that that the final -ard is derived from Old French -arde. Doublet of mostarda.

This word in other languages

mostaza(Español)moutarde(Français)Senf(Deutsch)mostarda(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • mmustard
  • msutard
  • musatrd
  • musstard
  • mustadr
  • mustardd
  • mustarrd
  • mustrad
  • musttard
  • mutsard
  • umstard

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of mustard - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

mmustard1msutard2musatrd2musstard1mustadr2mustardd1mustarrd1mustrad2
Edit distance from "mustard"

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 "mustard"?
"mustard" is spelled M-U-S-T-A-R-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmʌstəɹd/.
What does "mustard" mean?
As a noun, "mustard" means: A plant of certain species of the genus Brassica, or of related genera (especially Sinapis alba, in the family Brassicaceae, with yellow flowers, and linear seed pods).
What words are commonly confused with "mustard"?
"mustard" is commonly confused with "muster", "mustang", "Mustafa". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "mustard"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mustard" is /ˈmʌstəɹd/. 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 "mustard"?
From Middle English mustard, from Old French moustarde (French moutarde), from moust (“must”), from Latin mustum. Compare Saterland Frisian Muster (“mustard”), Dutch mosterd (“mustard”), German Low German Musterd (“mustard”), Icelandic mustarður (... 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 "mustard", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Norwich#11,432monarch#11,422persona#11,436princes#11,443

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

Patterson11 variantsretrieve11 variantsinvasive11 variantsslipping11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list