Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

o'

/oʊ/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.12 in modern English

Syllables: o'
IPA: /oʊ/

1

Scrabble Score

1

Letters

1

Syllables

1

Unique Chars

Meaning

prep

Contraction of of, usually before consonants.

prep

Contraction of on.

Archaic

prefix

descendant of; used to form Irish patronymic surnames.

Example Sentences

"Gimme two o’ those ones."
"from two o’clock until closing time"
"top o’ the mornin to ye"
"A pox o' your throat, you bawling, blasphemous, incharitable dog!"
"O'Reilly"

Etymology

From Irish Ó. Unrelated to English o' (“of”).

Origin

Source language: Irish

Word Breakdown

Root: Ó

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /oʊ/

Usage

Archaic

Inflected Forms

o (alternative) a (alternative)

Derived Forms

Osoyoos o’clock

Phrases

back o’ Bourke Besses o' th' Barn Brig o' Turk Cambus o' May cat-o’-nine-tails come-o'-will gottle o' geer hop-o'-my-thumb

Frequently Paired Words

Fitz- Mac Mc-

Homonyms

a

Rhymes With

co. o o. y'know château ö ô châteaux õ ō gâteau phở

Questions

How do you pronounce o'?: The recorded pronunciation is /oʊ/.
What does o' mean?: Contraction of of, usually before consonants.
Where does o' come from?: It is traced to Irish.

How to pronounce o'

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “o'”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/oʊ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “o'”.
Repeat and practice — Say “o'” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.