mutex
/ˈmjuːtɛks/noun, verb
mutex is spelled M-U-T-E-X: 5 letters. It appears about once in every 17 million words in written English, the 124,184th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, mutex means “An object in a program that serves as a lock, used to negotiate mutual exclusion among threads” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of mutex is mutexes.
How many letters and syllables are in mutex?
| Letters | 5: M-U-T-E-X |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 17 million words; the 124,184th 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 mutex?
Mutex appears about once in every 17 million words in written English, the 124,184th 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 mutex?
- UK /ˈmjuːtɛks/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-mutex.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of mutex
- mutexes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- mutexing participle, present
- mutexed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does mutex mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An object in a program that serves as a lock, used to negotiate mutual exclusion among threads.
verb
- 1
To apply a mutex to.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Mutex in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense object in a program:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | mutex, exclusion mutuelle |
| German | Mutex, wechselseitiger Ausschluss |
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 mutex come from?
Syllabic abbreviation of mutually exclusive or mutual exclusion.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).