Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

beholden

/bɪˈhoʊldən/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.81 in modern English

Syllables: be-hol-den
IPA: /bɪˈhoʊldən/

14

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Obligated to provide, display, or do something for another; indebted, obliged for a bounden duty.

Example Sentences

"From an early age, I had decided I wanted to be beholden to no one."
"But musical ancestry aside, the influence to which [Justin] Bieber is most beholden is the current trends in pop music, which means Believe is loaded up with EDM accouterments, seeking a comfortable middle ground where Bieber’s impressively refined pop-R&B croon can rub up on techno blasts and garish dubstep drops (and occasionally grind on some AutoTune, not necessarily because it needs it, but because a certain amount of robo-voice is expected these days)."
"There is much to dislike about the proposed constitution, which will keep elected governments beholden to a senate nominated by the junta and to a suite of meddling committees."

Etymology

From Middle English biholden (“beholden, obligated”), past participle of biholden (“to behold, look at”, modern behold), though that verb does not mean "to bind, obligate".

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: biholden

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /bɪˈhoʊldən/
British English: /bɪˈhəʊldən/

Inflected Forms

beholding (alternative)

Derived Forms

beholdenness unbeholden

Rhymes With

golden holden olden bolden embolden roldan colden boldon molden soldan moulden folden

Questions

How do you pronounce beholden?: The recorded pronunciation is /bɪˈhoʊldən/.
What does beholden mean?: Obligated to provide, display, or do something for another; indebted, obliged for a bounden duty.
Where does beholden come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce beholden

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