One syllable: Bought.
baht
/bɑt/
Bought is pronounced baht (/bɑt/). It has one syllable (Bought), with the stress on "Bought". Bought is a noun meaning a purchase or acquisition, often referring to something one has obtained. In everyday language it can denote a thing you own or have paid for, as in a recently bought item. The term can also appear in idiomatic phrases like “put a price on what you’ve bought.” It’s distinct from “brought” despite similar spelling, and pronunciation centers on the /bɔːt/ vowel with a final /t/.”.
nounBought is a noun meaning a purchase or acquisition, often referring to something one has obtained. In everyday language it can denote a thing you own or have paid for, as in a recently bought item. The term can also appear in idiomatic phrases like “put a price on what you’ve bought.” It’s distinct from “brought” despite similar spelling, and pronunciation centers on the /bɔːt/ vowel with a final /t/.”
"I just bought a new laptop yesterday."
"The bought goods arrived on schedule."
"That’s a smart buy; you’ve made a good bought."
/bɔːt/ in US/UK/AU IPA. Place your lips in a rounded, slightly protruded position for /bɔː/ with the tongue low-mid, then release a crisp /t/. The key is a long, rounded mid-back vowel /ɔː/ followed by a voiceless alveolar stop /t/. Listen for the long vowel before the gentle release: you’ll want a smooth glide from /ɔ/ into a sharp /t/. Audio references: Cambridge/Forvo pronunciations can help compare rhotic and non-rhotic accents.
Common errors include shortening the /ɔː/ to a short /ɒ/ in some dialects, producing /bɒt/ or /bɔt/ without proper rounding, and flapping or voice changes on /t/. Another error is inserting extra vowels or using a hard /d/ sound instead of /t/. To correct: keep the lips rounded for the /ɔː/, hold the vowel slightly longer, and terminate with a clear /t/ by placing the tongue tip at the alveolar ridge and releasing sharply.
In General American, /bɔːt/ with a tense, rounded /ɔː/ and a clear /t/. In many UK accents, /ɔː/ is similar but can be closer to /ɔː/, with slightly different rhoticity depending on speaker; Australians often have a similar /ɔː/ vowel but with less rounding and a crisper /t/ at the end. The main difference is vowel quality and the length; US typically has a more open /ɔː/ and a sharper /t/; UK/AU can present subtle vowel height and lip rounding variations while maintaining the final /t/ sound.
The difficulty lies in pronouncing the long, rounded /ɔː/ vowel before the final /t/ without diluting it into /ɒ/ or /æ/. Speakers often gloss the vowel, shorten it, or insert an extra vowel. Another challenge is ensuring a crisp, unvoiced /t/ after the rounded vowel, especially in rapid speech where vowel length and consonant release compress. Focus on maintaining a true /ɔː/ before the clean /t/ to preserve accuracy.
Although spelled with an 'o' and a 'ugh', the pronunciation centers on the /ɔː/ vowel rather than any /u/ sound; this can surprise learners who expect a different sound from their reading. The word harmonizes with other /ɔːt/ endings like 'caught' and 'thought' in many dialects. Remember: the 'gh' in spelling is silent in this case; the essential sound is /ɔː/ plus /t/.
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Bought originates from the Old English word becunan or becuman, with the sense of taking or obtaining. The verb buy derives from Proto-Germanic *bugjanan, related to the Old High German bugan and Dutch kopen, all pointing to the action of obtaining by payment. Over time, the past tense bought emerged in Middle English as a regularized form of the strong verb buy. The noun sense “that which has been bought” follows the verb, crystallizing in Early Modern English as merchants and consumers used language about purchases. The pronunciation shift toward /ɔː/ in many dialects reflects Great Vowel Shift influences and regional vowel mergers. In contemporary usage, bought remains a compact, concrete noun signifying ownership through purchase, distinct in spelling from “brought” but similar in sound due to the shared vowel and final t-sound.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Bought" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Bought" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Bought"
-ght sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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