Xmas
/ˈkɹɪs.məs/
"xmas" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Xmas” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #21,118. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #21,118
- frequency rank, English
- 54
- “X” headwords
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 7
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Abbreviation of Christmas.
Corpus desk
Index EN-xmas · Xmas · English
Xmas · rank #21,118 · 6 variants · 7 confusables
- FREQ-MID #21,118
- LEN-MID 4 letters
- VOW-1 1 vowel
- CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
- VAR-MID 6 variants
- BOOK-MID 54
- PHOTO-FINISH yelp
Nearest frequency peer: yelp (+2 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 “Xmas”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- widen
widen
78,888 corpus weight
- widest
widest
78,887 corpus weight
- wigs
wigs
78,886 corpus weight
- Xmas
Xmas
78,883 corpus weight
- yelp
yelp
78,881 corpus weight
- Yoon
Yoon
78,880 corpus weight
What this shows “Xmas” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Xmas |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /ˈkɹɪs.məs/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #21,118 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 7 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Xmas”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 6 spelling variants around Xmas (IPA /ˈkɹɪs.məs/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #21,118 among 54 “X” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Abbreviation of Christmas.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for Xmas, with forms such as "mxas", "xams", and "xmass". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "XML", "XPS", "XM", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Attested in this form since 1755, and preceded by earlier forms such as X'temmas (1551) and Old English Χp̃es mæssa (1100), from Cristes mæsse, with abbreviation of Cristes by the symbol X, orthographic borrowing from Ancient Greek Χ (Kh, letter chi), from … The correct English form is Xmas, spelled X-M-A-S.
Definition
- 1Abbreviation of Christmas.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how Xmas appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
In ye Xmas and Whitsuntide Vacations, ye Scholars study at a rate of an hour and a Quarter each day & all yt go home have proportionable Tasks set them...
A thousand thanks, merry Xmasses & happy New Years to you for yʳ delightful letter: […]
Etymology
Attested in this form since 1755, and preceded by earlier forms such as X'temmas (1551) and Old English Χp̃es mæssa (1100), from Cristes mæsse, with abbreviation of Cristes by the symbol X, orthographic borrowing from Ancient Greek Χ (Kh, letter chi), from Χριστός (Khristós, “Christ”). By surface analysis, X (“Christ”) + -mas (“holiday”). In popular use since late 19th century. See Wikipedia for more information.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- mxas
- xams
- xmass
- xmmas
- xmsa
- xxmas
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Xmas - 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.
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 "Xmas"?
What does "Xmas" mean?
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Xmas", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).