Dole (noun) refers to a portion of something, especially food or money, given as a gift or charity; it can also mean a feeling of sadness or a lack of fulfillment. In common usage, it often denotes a share or grant provided to a recipient. The term can have formal or informal connotations depending on context and origin.
US: rhotic influence is optional in this word, but the /l/ remains clear. UK: more centralized onset with a slightly fuller /əʊ/; AU: tends toward a broader /əʊ/ with a crisp /l/. IPA references guide adjustments: US /doʊl/, UK /dəʊl/, AU /dəʊl/. Focus on lip rounding for /oʊ/, and keep the tongue tip relaxed but precise for the /l/.
"She received a dole of fruit from the basket."
"The charity provided a weekly dole to families in need."
"He complained that the government’s unemployment dole was insufficient."
"Despite the dole, many residents still faced financial hardship."
Dole comes from the Old French dole, later the Middle English dole, from Latin dolum meaning trick or deceit, and originally used to mean a fate or misfortune. In Early Modern English, dole began to signify a share of goods or money given by charity or government to the poor. The economic sense—a grant or allowance—emerged in the 18th and 19th centuries as social welfare systems expanded. The word also developed the emotional sense of sorrow or grievance linked to misfortune, though in contemporary usage this is less common for the monetary meaning. First recorded uses appear in medieval financial surviveings and charitable records, with the exact earliest citation dating to the 14th century in charitable distributions, then broadening to formal welfare contexts in the 1800s. In modern English, dole is widely understood in two primary senses: a distribution of aid and a general sense of sorrow, with the aid sense more common in British usage (e.g., unemployment benefits).
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Words that rhyme with "Dole"
-ole sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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Dole is pronounced with a long 'o' sound: US /doʊl/, UK/AU /dəʊl/. Place the tongue high in the back of the mouth for the /oʊ/ or /əʊ/ diphthong, start with a mid-back vowel and glide to a close-mid position, ending with an ‘l’ light touch of the tongue to the alveolar ridge. Stress is on the single syllable. You’ll hear the glide from a rounded lip shape to a closed jaw as you finish.
Common errors include misplacing the vowel as a short /ɒ/ or /ɑ/ instead of the proper diphthong /oʊ/ or /oʊ/. Some learners shorten the vowel too much, giving /dol/ without the glide. Another pitfall is de-emphasizing the final /l/ or giving it a 'dark L' as in some British accents; keep the light alveolar touch for a clear 'l' onset.
In US English, /doʊl/ features a prominent /oʊ/ diphthong with rhoticityless influence depending on speaker. In UK/AU, /dəʊl/ uses a more centralized initial schwa before the /ʊ/ glide, often with a slightly longer, clearer /əʊ/ quality and a more pronounced lip rounding. Australian speech tends toward a broader, more open /əʊ/ with less retroflexion on the final /l/ for some speakers.
The challenge lies in the English diphthongization of the vowel—moving from a neutral starting point to a rounded vowel—plus articulating a clear alveolar /l/ after a long vowel. Learners often substitute with a Midwest /ɒ/ or summerize to /doʊl/ without lip rounding. Focusing on the glide and keeping the tongue high at the onset of /oʊ/ helps avoid mispronunciations.
Unlike many two-letter words, 'dole' is not silent in any letter; the final /l/ is pronounced with the tip of the tongue contacting the alveolar ridge rather than a darkened, back-of-mouth approach. You should keep the mouth slightly rounded during the /oʊ/ glide and then flatten the tongue for /l/. This reduces ambiguity between /doʊl/ and /dol/.
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