Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

nao

/naʊ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.93 in modern English

Syllables: nao
IPA: /naʊ/

3

Scrabble Score

3

Letters

1

Syllables

3

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A Spanish or Portuguese carrack.

adj

Deliberate misspelling of now.

Humorous

adv

Deliberate misspelling of now.

Humorous

name

Initialism of National Applications Office: a former agent of the United States Department of Homeland Security.

American usage

name

Initialism of National Audit Office.

British usage

name

Initialism of Nautical Almanac Office.

name

Initialism of North Atlantic oscillation.

name

Abbreviation of Nenets Autonomous Okrug: a federal subject of Russia.

Example Sentences

"I got vivid descriptions of the sea battle at Chaul from the Mamluk sailors and the Ottoman gunners so that I could clearly visualise the Mamluk galleys and the Ottoman guns battling the Portuguese naos at the entrance of the Kundalika river."

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish nao.

Usage

Humorous
American usage
British usage

Inflected Forms

naos (plural)

Frequently Paired Words

ENSO El Nino La Nina

Homonyms

now nau

Rhymes With

how now our low 'low allow row somehow bow lmao shot across the bow thou

Questions

How do you pronounce nao?: The recorded pronunciation is /naʊ/.
What does nao mean?: A Spanish or Portuguese carrack.
Where does nao come from?: Borrowed from Spanish nao.

How to pronounce nao

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