Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

pox

/pɑks/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.01 in modern English

Syllables
pox
IPA
/pɑks/
12
Scrabble Score
3
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A disease characterized by skin eruptions (especially purulent ones) that may leave pockmarks.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A disease characterized by skin eruptions (especially purulent ones) that may leave pockmarks.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A curse.

Countable; Uncountable

verb

To infect with the pox, or syphilis.

Dated; Transitive verb

Example Sentences

Etymology

From the plural of Middle English pocke. See also pock. The curse sense involves metonymy: wishing a literal pox upon someone is the original form of pox-relevant curse, and the word pox itself also came to mean curse.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /pɑks/

Usage

Inflected Forms

poxes (plural) poxes (present, singular) poxing (participle, present) poxed (participle, past) poxed (past)

Derived Forms

antipox buffalopox camelpox canarypox cottonpox cowpox fowlpox goatpox hornpox horsepox milkpox monkeypox

Phrases

a pox on carp pox chicken pox French pox great-pox hog pox horse-pox kine-pox

Frequently Paired Words

plague

Synonyms

syphilis syph lues venerea lues

Homonyms

pocks

Rhymes With

box fox blocks rocks stocks socks locks cox sox knox knocks clocks

Questions

How do you pronounce pox?
The recorded pronunciation is /pɑks/.
What does pox mean?
A disease characterized by skin eruptions (especially purulent ones) that may leave pockmarks.
Where does pox come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce pox

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