A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
- A means to an end
- A method in one's madness
- A miss is as good as a mile
- Aggravate vs mitigate
- Bachelor’s or bachelors degree and master’s or masters degree
- Boggle the mind and mind-boggling
- Can vs may
- Car park vs parking lot
- Cloying and mawkish
- Coddle and mollycoddle
- Crèche and manger
- Decathlon, heptathlon, pentathlon, triathlon and biathlon
- Disabuse, misuse and abuse
- Ditto and ditto mark
- Eeny, meeny, miny, mo
- Frankincense and myrrh
- Gaiety or mirth
- Heavens to Murgatroyd
- In a manner of speaking
- In point of fact or in fact or as a matter of fact
- In the midst vs in the mist
- Junkyard dog
- Lava vs magma
- Macabre
- Macaron vs. macaroonA macaron is a sandwichlike French confection. A macaroon is a light cookie often containing almonds or coconut.
- MacGyver
- Mach vs mock
- Machiavellian
- Machine gun vs. machine-gun
- Macintosh, mackintosh, McIntoshMacintosh: an Apple computer. Mackintosh: a stye of raincoat. McIntosh: a North American red apple.
- Mad as a wet hen and mad as a hornet
- Maddening vs. maddingThe traditional form of the idiom is madding crowd.
- Made vs maid
- Magic bullet and silver bullet
- Magical realism
- Magnate vs. magnetMagnate: a powerful person in a business or industry. Magnet: an object with a magnetic field.
- Magnum opusa great achievement, especially an artistic one, and especially the greatest work of someone's artistic career.
- Mail vs male
- Main, mane and Maine
- Maize vs maze
- Majordomo or major-domo
- Make a clean breast of it and come clean
- Make do vs. make dueMake do is the standard form.
- Make ends meet and make both ends meet
- Make hay1. short for make hay while the sun shines, referring to the wisdom of taking advantage of opportunities before they go away; 2. to turn (something) to one's advantage.
- Make no bones about it
- Make or break and make or mar
- Makeup, make-up or make up
- Malarkey
- Maleficent vs. malevolentMalevolent: ill-willed without action. Maleficent: ill-willed with action.
- Malfeasance, misfeasance and nonfeasance
- Mall vs maul
- Malware vs ransomware
- Man does not live by bread alone
- Man's best friend
- Mancessionan unfortunate neologism referring to the recession's especial effects on men.
- Maneuver vs. manoeuvremaneuver in the U.S.; manoeuvre everywhere else.
- Manga vs anime
- Manic vs maniac
- Manner vs. manorManner: 1. a way of doing something; 2. a bearing; 3. a type. Manor: 1. a lord's estate; 2. a large country house.
- Mansplain
- Manspreading
- Mantel vs. mantleMantle: 1. a loose, sleeveless coat or cloak; 2. something that covers; 3. the layer of the Earth between the crust and the core; 4. the cerebral cortex. Mantel: an ornamental shelf above a fireplace.
- Many happy returns
- Many vs. muchMany modifies countable nouns. Much modifies uncountable nouns.
- Mare vs mayor
- Marginalize or marginalise vs minimize or minimise
- Marinade vs. marinateMarinade: a liquid mixture in which meat is soaked before cooking. Marinate: to soak meat in marinade.
- Mark vs marque
- Marquee vs marquis
- Marry vs. merryMarry: 1. to become someone's husband or wife; 2. to officiate a marriage ceremony. Merry: jolly or festive.
- Marsala vs masala
- Marshal vs. martialMartial: of or relating to war or the military. Marshal: 1. a person holding one of various official positions; 2. to enlist, arrange, organize, or gather (especially resources or military personnel).
- Martin vs marten
- Mary Sue
- Mask vs masque
- Massage vs message
- Masterful vs. masterlyHistorically they have differed, but today they both mean with virtuosic skill.
- Materiel vs. materialMaterial: stuff: Materiel: military stuff.
- Math vs. mathsMath in North America; maths everywhere else.
- Matriculate vs graduate
- Matrix
- Matter of fact or matter-of-fact
- Matter of fact vs fact of the matter
- Maudlin vs modeling or modelling
- Maul vs. mullMaul: 1. to injure by beating; 2. to lacerate; 3. a heavy hammer. Mull: to ponder.
- Maximise or maximize
- May be or maybe
- Mayhap or mishap or snafu
- Mayonnaise vs. mayonaiseMayonnaise is the standard spelling.
- McGuffin
- Mcjob
- Me vs mi
- Mea culpaan elaborate and apparently heartfelt apology.
- Meager vs. meagremeager in the U.S.; meagre everywhere else.
- Mealy-mouthedtending to say things in indirect, evasive, or deceptive ways.
- Mean vs mien
- MeansIt can be either singular or plural, depending on context.
- Meat, meet or mete
- Medal, meddle, metal, mettleMedal: a piece of metal given as an award. Metal: the category of hard, shiny elements. Mettle: courage or quality of character. Meddle: to intrude on another's affairs.
- Media vs. mediumsBoth plurals are commonly used, though each tends to appear more often in certain uses.
- Mediator vs. moderatorMediator: one who helps resolve a dispute. Moderator: one who presides over a discussion.
- Meeple
- Melted vs. moltenBoth are past-tense and past-participial inflections of melt, but molten is usually reserved for metals and minerals.
- Melting pot
- Memento moria reminder of mortality.
- Men in white coats
- Mendacity vs mendicity
- Menscha decent person with many good qualities.
- Meretricious vs meritorious
- Meritorious vs maritorious
- Merry Christmas vs Happy Christmas
- MetaToday, the prefix usually means about itself, and it doubles as a standalone adjective.
- Metaphor
- Metaphoric vs. metaphoricalThe longer form is preferred.
- Meteoroid, meteor, meteorite (and meteoric)Meteoroids are in space. Meteors are in earth's atmosphere. Meteorites hit the ground.
- Meter vs. metreFor units of measurement, it's meter in the U.S. and metre outside the U.S. Measuring devices are spelled meter everywhere.
- Methinksit seems to me.
- Mexican standoff
- MIA
- Mic drop
- Mic vs. mikeThe abbreviation of microphone is not yet settled.
- Mice vs. mousesMice is more common even for the computing device.
- Mickey Finn and mickey
- Micro- vs macro-
- Microaggression
- Microfinance, microcredit and microloan
- Midrift (midriff)Midrift is a misspelling.
- Might as well
- Might vs mite
- Milieua particular social environment.
- Militant or terrorist
- Militate or mitigate
- Millennia vs millenniums
- Milquetoast vs milktoast
- Mince vs mints
- Mince words
- Mind over matter
- Mind vs mined
- Mind your own beeswax
- Miner vs minor
- Minima vs. minimumsminima in science and mathematics; minimums in general usage.
- Minimum vs minimal
- Minks vs. minx
- Mint condition
- Minuet vs minute
- Minuscule vs. minisculeThe original has the u. The form with the i is a rapidly conventionalizing misspelling.
- Minute vs minute
- Minutia, minutiaeMinutia is traditionally singular, and minutiae is its plural.
- Mirandizeto inform an arrested suspect of his or her right to silence and legal counsel.
- Mischievous vs. mischieviousMischievous is the standard spelling.
- Misery loves company
- Misinformed vs. uninformedMisinformed = based on bad information. Uninformed = based on inadequate information.
- Misnomer1. a name that gives a misleading impression; 2. a mistake in naming something.
- Misogyny and misandry
- Misology vs mixology
- Missed vs mist
- Misspell
- Mixed bag
- Mixtape
- Moat vs mote
- Mob justice and mob rule
- Mob or demob
- Mobilize vs mobilise
- Mode vs mowed
- Modeling vs. modellingmodeled and modeling in the U.S.; modelled and modelling everywhere else.
- ModernIt may sometimes bear unwanted 20th-century-related connotations.
- Modus operandi (m.o, MO)a routine way of doing something.
- Mogul
- Mojo
- Mold vs. mouldWhatever the sense, the word is spelled mold in the U.S. and mould everywhere else.
- Mollusc vs. molluskmollusk in North America; mollusc outside North America.
- Mollycoddleto be overprotective or overindulgent toward.
- Molotov cocktail
- Molt vs. moultmolt in the U.S.; moult everywhere else.
- Mom vs mom
- Momager
- Momentarily1. briefly; 2. in a moment.
- Monday morning quarterback and armchair quarterback
- Monetize vs demonetize
- Money is no object
- Money-grabbing vs. money-grubbingBoth describe people who greedily seek money at every opportunity.
- Monied vs. Moneyed
- Monkey business
- Monkey on one's back
- Moonlight
- Moonshine
- Moose vs mousse
- Moose vs. mooses
- Moot vs. muteMoot: 1. subject to debate; 2. of no importance or merely hypothetical. Mute: silent.
- Mop the floor with someone and wipe the floor with someone
- Moral vs morale
- Morality vs mortality
- Moratorium
- Morays vs. moresMorays: eels. Mores: shared habits and values.
- Morbid vs moribund
- More bang for one's buck and bigger bang for one's buck
- More than one way to skin a cat
- More vs moor
- MoresoThe two-word form is still safer.
- Moribund
- Morning vs mourning
- Mortar board
- Mothballto make inactive or put in storage.
- Mother lodean abundant source of something.
- Mother of all and granddaddy of all
- Motive vs motif
- Mouse and CAT
- Moustache vs. mustache (vs. mustachio)mustache in the U.S.; moustache everywhere else. A mustachio is an especially luxuriant mustache.
- Mouthfuls
- Movable feast
- Movable vs. moveableMovable is preferred everywhere, but moveable is a common variant.
- Move heaven and earth
- Move the goalposts and shift the goalposts
- Movers and shakers
- Mowed vs. mownMowed is usually the past tense, and mown is usually the past-participial adjective.
- Mr., Mrs., Ms. and Miss
- MuchlyIt can always give way to much, which works as an adverb.
- Muckamuck, mucky-muck and muckety-muck
- Mucous vs. mucusMucus is a noun. Mucous is an adjective.
- Muddy the waters
- Mudslinging
- Muggle
- Mulligan
- Multitaskto perform multiple tasks as one.
- Mum's the word
- Mumbo jumbo
- Murderers' rowan exceptionally intimidating group of people or things. It originally described a formidable 1920s New York Yankees lineup.
- Murphy's Law, Sod's Law and Finagle's Law
- Muscle vs mussel
- Must of (must've)It's usually a misspelling of must've.
- Mutually assured destruction or mutual assured destruction
- Mutually exclusive
- MuumuuIt prevails over all alternative spellings by a large margin.
- My way or the highway
- MyriadUsing it as an adjective is usually more concise than using it as a noun.
- Oligarchy vs monarchy
- Out of whole cloth
- Poly- vs mono-
- Sadism, masochism and sadomasochism
- Sarcophagus vs mausoleum
- Sepulcher, crypt, catacomb or mausoleum
- Soliloquy vs monologue
- SOS and Mayday
- Spoonerism vs malapropism
- Straw man and man of straw
- Take the mickey out of someone
- The real McCoy
- The whole megillah
- Worth one's while