Cahoot is a slang noun meaning participation in a secret plan or scheme; commonly used in the phrase “in cahoots.” It implies collusion or conspiring together. The term can carry playful or sly undertones and is often used informally. In contemporary usage, it functions as a unit of meaning describing joint action or partnership in a hidden activity.
- Common Mistakes • You might reduce the first syllable to a quick schwa and not clearly release the second syllable; ensure you start with a true schwa /ə/ and stress the second syllable: kəˈhuːts. • Some learners mispronounce the final /ts/ as a hard /t/ or /s/; practice the crisp alveolar affricate /t͡s/ by saying 'cats' with a tighter final release. • Another error is making the second syllable too short, resulting in /kəˈhuts/; hold the /uː/ long enough and finish with a short /ts/ to sound natural. Correction tips: exaggerate the initial k-sound lightly, glide into a strong /huː/ with lip rounding, then snap the /t͡s/ quickly and cleanly. Focus on a clean transition between /ˈkə/ and /huːts/ in slow practice, then speed up.
- US: stronger rhotics and slightly darker vowel color; stress remains on the second syllable, with /əˈhuːts/. - UK: more clipped intonation and a tighter /uː/ with less lip rounding; maintain /ˈkə.huːts/ with less vowel length variation. - AU: more rounded /uː/ and a bit more elasticity in vowel length; keep final /t͡s/ crisp but not overly sharp. IPA references: US kəˈhuːts, UK kəˈhuːts, AU kəˈhuːts. - General: maintain non-rhoticity in careful enunciation, but in careful speech you may hear some Americans pronouncing /r/ color in adjacent syllables.
"The two developers were in cahoots to launch the beta early."
"Don’t get involved in cahoots with them—they’re up to something shady."
"The rival teams were in cahoots to fix the results, allegedly."
"We’ve been in cahoots with a local designer to revamp the brand quietly."
Cahoots comes from the Scottish phrase in cahoot, first attested in the early 16th century. The origin is debated, but it is linked to the Middle English phrase ‘in cahoots’ meaning in cooperative agreement or jointly engaged, possibly from the French cahute (hut) or the Dutch samen in ‘koot’ (company). Over time, the phrase entered broader English usage in the 19th century, with ‘cahoots’ as a plural noun marking a joint venture or scheme. The sense shifted from physical proximity (sharing a hut or space) to social-legal collaboration and, by the 20th century, became idiomatic for secret or conspiratorial collaboration. The term is informal, often used humorously or slyly, and typically collocates with verbs like be, get, or be in. Its historical nuance of joint action under shared purpose explains why we say “in cahoots” rather than simply “together.”
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Cahoot" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Cahoot" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Cahoot"
-oot sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
🎵 Rhyme tip: Practicing with rhyming words helps you master similar sound patterns and improves your overall pronunciation accuracy.
Pronounce it as kah-HOOTS with the focus on the second syllable. IPA US/UK/AU: kəˈhuːts. Start with a schwa plus k sound, then a long /uː/ vowel in the second syllable and a clear final /ts/ affricate. Lip rounding for /uː/ is medium, with the tongue high and back. Imagine saying 'cohots' with a short initial k sound and stress on HOOTS. You can listen to models on Pronounce or Forvo for native intonation patterns.
Common mistakes: 1) Reducing /ə/ to a full vowel in the first syllable, giving cu-HOOTS instead of kəˈhuːts. 2) Slurring the final /ts/ into a plosive or /s/, producing /t/ or /ts/ confusion. 3) Misplacing the stress on the first syllable as /ˈkæ.huːts/ or evenly distributing stress. Correction: start with a clear schwa before the k, hold the /uː/ long in the second syllable, and release into a crisp /ts/ at the end. Practice with isolated syllables then in phrases.
Across accents, the key difference is in the vowel quality of the second syllable’s /uː/ and the rhoticity. US/CA tends to maintain a longer, rounded /uː/ with less vowel reduction, while UK often has a tighter back vowel quality in /uː/ and less rhotic variation in casual speech; AU tends toward a broad, rounded /uː/ with mild vowel lengthening depending on speaker. The initial kə stays relatively stable, but fluency and vowel length can vary with tempo and emphasis in each accent.
The difficulty lies in the short, subtle schwa in the first syllable combined with a long, tense /uː/ in the second and the final affricate /ts/. The transition from a relaxed, weaker first syllable to a strong, clipped ending requires precise tongue position: a high back tongue for /uː/, a retracted tongue for /k/, and a crisp alveolar release for /ts/. Getting a clean /t͡s/ without an extra vowel makes it sound natural in fluent speech.
Cahoot is notable for its clipped two-syllable rhythm and the strong, final /ts/ that follows a long vowel. Practically, you emphasize the second syllable with a longer voweled nucleus (/ˈhuː/), then execute a quick /t/ release into /s/. The mouth positions include a slightly rounded lips for /uː/, a retracted or high back tongue for /k/, and a front-alveolar closure for /t͡s/. This combination is what gives the word its distinct cadence and punch.
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- Shadowing: listen to a native clip saying cahoots clearly; imitate in real time, pause, and repeat with similar pacing. - Minimal pairs: kahoot vs khaught (if you’re distinguishing kahoot as a name vs an action); but more practically, practice with cuˈhuts, cut vs coup to sharpen vowel quality and alveolar endings. - Rhythm practice: count syllables across phrases like ‘in cahoots with’ to lock the rhythm. - Stress practice: practice emphasizing the second syllable /ˈhuːts/ while keeping a light first syllable /kə/. - Recording: record yourself saying the word in isolation, then in a short sentence; compare with a reference recording for final /t͡s/ precision. - Context sentences: “They were in cahoots with the designer,” and “Join us in cahoots for the charity project.”
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