Cot is a small, portable bed used for sleeping, typically with a light frame and a fabric covering. It is designed for temporary or travel use, often in nurseries or clinics, and contrasts with a full-size bed. In everyday speech, cot can also refer to a bed-like structure for infants or a makeshift sleeping option in various settings.
- You may approximate the vowel with a longer, more open sound akin to 'cot' in some dialects, making it sound like 'caught'. To fix: shorten the vowel; keep it near /ɒ/ or /ɑ/ and move swiftly to /t/. - Sometimes the final /t/ becomes a soft lilt or is released too late, turning it into /tʃ/ or a swallowed stop. Practice with intentional release: light touch to alveolar ridge, sharp release. - In quick speech, the /t/ may be clipped or replaced by a glottal stop /ʔ/. To correct: practice with a full alveolar stop at the end in isolation and in sentences; use a deliberate tongue-tip tap.
"I packed a compact cot for the camping trip."
"The nursery has a blue cot with cute stars."
"We bought a foldable cot for guests with newborns."
"The patient slept in a hospital cot with a side rail."
Cot comes from Middle English cotte, a diminutive of cote, from Old French cote meaning shelter, sheltering dwelling, dwelling place. The sense shift to a portable bed likely developed in the 16th–18th centuries as households used lightweight, collapsible sleeping frames. It shares roots with cotier in some Romance languages, indicating a shelter or small dwelling, and with cot as a place to lie down. Early usage often described makeshift or provisional beds, and by the 19th century cot referred to portable cribs for infants or travelers. The modern sense solidified in English-speaking regions as child-care items and travel furniture, while the broader sense of a simple bed for temporary use persisted across medical and domestic contexts. First known uses appear in 1500s English texts, evolving through commercial manufacture in the 1800s to standardize across nurseries and camping gear. Contemporary usage encompasses infant cribs, portable travel beds, and hospital cots, retaining the core idea of a lightweight, temporary sleeping surface.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Cot" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Cot" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Cot"
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Pronounce it as /kɒt/ in UK and many non-rhotic American variants; in US General American it’s typically /kɑːt/ or /kɒt/ depending on speaker. Focus on an open back vowel with a short, crisp /t/ at the end. Start with the lips rounded slightly for /k/, then raise the back of the tongue toward the soft palate, finishing with a crisp /t/ with the tip of the tongue at the alveolar ridge. For reference, think: cot = k + short o + t. Audio cues: listen to recordings of cot in Cambridge/Oxford or Forvo entries and mimic the final stop sound clearly.
Common errors include lengthening the vowel into a diphthong (like ‘coat’ /koʊt/) and dropping or delaying the final /t/. Some speakers may voice the final /t/ as a glottal stop in American casual speech, making it sound like /kɒʔ/ or /kɑʔ/. To correct: keep a short, clipped /ɒ/ or /ɑ/ vowel and press the tongue to the alveolar ridge briefly for a precise /t/. Practice with minimal pairs like cot vs coat to feel the vowel difference and final stop.
In UK English, /kɒt/ with a short, rounded back vowel and a crisp /t/. In US English, many speakers use /kɑːt/ or /kɒt/ depending on region; rhoticity is not a factor here since /t/ remains the same, but the vowel may be lower, closer to /ɑ/. In Australian English, you often hear /kɒt/ with a short, lax vowel and a non-velarized final /t/, sometimes with a subtle glottal release in casual speech. Across all three, the critical factor is a clear alveolar /t/ rather than a heavy, released vowel.
The difficulty lies in producing a precise, short vowel within a closed syllable and a clean alveolar /t/. For some speakers, the final /t/ glottalization or vowel length differences obscure the exact identity of the word. The contrast with coat (which has a long /oʊ/) can be tricky in rapid speech, causing confusion. Mastery comes from timing the tongue to a quick stop at the alveolar ridge and keeping the vowel tight and short.
In careful speech, ensure the vowel is a monophthong, not a diphthong, and that the tongue mass and jaw remain relatively compact. The tip of the tongue should tap the alveolar ridge briefly for a clean /t/, with the lips neutral. Avoid turning cot into caught or coat; keep the vowel compact and the mouth relatively closed before the final /t/. The unique aspect is maintaining a crisp end-stop after a compact back-central vowel.
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