Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

ough

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.90 in modern English

Syllables: ough
IPA

8

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

1

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

intj

The sound of a grunt or groan or cough.

Example Sentences

""Ough! ough! ough!" groaned the old woman; "he wants to go, away from the nest where he was warmed, and nursed, and brought up."
"We strove to extort from him the cause of this ebullition of passion, but he only shook his head in reply to our questions, and uttered a guttural "ough.""
"Ough! A door opened, a white-haired secretarial head, but wearing a compassionate expression, appeared, and a skinny forefinger beckoned me into the sanctuary."

Frequently Paired Words

ouch oof

Questions

What does ough mean?: The sound of a grunt or groan or cough.

How to pronounce ough

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