Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

au fait

/ˌoʊˈfeɪ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.77 in modern English

Syllables: au -fait
IPA: /ˌoʊˈfeɪ/

9

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Being familiar with or informed about something.

Example Sentences

"Are you au fait with the rules of the game?"
"The Chevalier was, as usual, au fait at all the anecdotes of the court, which had been exceedingly gay, owing to the visit of Madame de Savoie and her daughter, the Princess Marguerite."
"Now there is father; he is au fait in all these matters; has a theory for every case of whooping-cough, – and a mission school."
"In that case, it would help to have a benevolent deity who is au fait with those complexities — but that there is such a deity is a feature of Stoic theology."
"This may sound needless to the professional who is au fait with the history and direction of the investigation."

Etymology

Borrowed from French au fait (literally “at the fact”).

Origin

Source language: French

Word Breakdown

Root: au fait

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˌoʊˈfeɪ/
British English: /ˌəʊˈfeɪ/

Inflected Forms

more au fait (comparative) most au fait (superlative)

Synonyms

acquainted at home conversant familiar abreast au courant up on

Questions

How do you pronounce au fait?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌoʊˈfeɪ/.
What does au fait mean?: Being familiar with or informed about something.
Where does au fait come from?: It is traced to French.

How to pronounce au fait

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “au fait”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌoʊˈfeɪ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “au fait”.
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