One syllable: got.
gaht
/ɡɑt/
got is pronounced gaht (/ɡɑt/). It has one syllable (got), with the stress on "got". Got refers to the past tense of get, indicating possession or achievement, or to have received something. In everyday speech, it also functions as a contracted auxiliary in phrases like 'I've got' or 'He's got,' signaling possession or obligation in casual registers. The term is common across informal conversation and varies in pronunciation slightly with regional accent.
Got refers to the past tense of get, indicating possession or achievement, or to have received something. In everyday speech, it also functions as a contracted auxiliary in phrases like 'I've got' or 'He's got,' signaling possession or obligation in casual registers. The term is common across informal conversation and varies in pronunciation slightly with regional accent.
"I got a new book yesterday."
"She got the package at the door."
"If you’ve got time, come join us."
Pronounce it as a single-stressed syllable: /ɡɒt/ in UK strong forms or /ɡɑt/ in many US contexts. The final /t/ should be a light release; avoid a strong aspirated 'too' ending. In rapid speech, the /ɒ/ or /ɑ/ can be slightly centralized toward [ɐ], but keep the opening vowel distinct from 'goat.' Mouth position: lips neutral, tongue high-mid for /ɒ/ (back of the tongue slightly raised), tip of the tongue on the alveolar ridge just behind the upper teeth for the /t/ release. Audio reference: search for 'got pronunciation' from Pronounce or Forvo.
Common errors: 1) Over-aspirating the final /t/, making it sound like /tʰ/ in cautious speech when the word is typically a quick, unreleased or lightly released /t/. 2) Distorting the vowel to sound more like 'goat' (/goʊt/) by lengthening the vowel; keep the short /ɒ/ or /ɑ/ sound. Correction: relax the jaw, close the lips lightly and produce a short, crisp alveolar stop; avoid prolonging the vowel. Use a quick transition from the vowel to the /t/ with a light release.
In US accents, /ɡɑt/ with a broad /ɑ/ vowel (ballpark ‘cot’ vowel) and a clear /t/ release; in many non-rhotic UK varieties, you still hear /ɡɒt/ with a short /ɒ/ vowel; Australian English sits around /ɡɒt/ too, but with slightly higher vowel height and more centralized vowel quality; some speakers employ a glottal stop for /t/ in fast speech, especially in Estuary or casual speech. The rhoticity generally doesn’t alter ‘got’ much since it’s a closed syllable.
Because it hinges on a short, lax vowel followed by a fast, crisp alveolar /t/. In rapid speech, the vowel can reduce toward a schwa-like sound, and the /t/ can become a tap or glottal stop, especially in American and some UK dialects. Coordinating the tongue position for /ɡ/ onset, stable vowel, and precise tongue-tip contact for /t/ makes it easy to flatten or elongate the vowel or blend into a near-diphthong. Precise, disciplined timing helps.
Is there a noticeable difference between ‘got’ and the contracted ‘gotta’ in everyday speech? Yes. ‘Got’ is a full, short, single syllable /ɡɒt/ or /ɡɑt/, while ‘gotta’ blends into /ˈɡɒtə/ or /ˈɡɑtə/ with a schwa-like middle vowel and a lighter, quicker final syllable. The transition from full word to contraction slightly softens the /t/ and adds a subtle, extra syllable in natural speech.
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Got tracks its roots to Old Norse gat, related to Dutch geta and German holen/gewinnen, tracing back to Proto-Germanic *ga-tai- meaning ‘to obtain’ or ‘to acquire.’ Early English usage mainly appeared as a past participle of the verb ‘get’ in the 13th century, with forms like ‘gotten’ evolving in Middle English especially in American English. The word’s core meaning—acquire, obtain—remains stable, but it rapidly absorbed a broader function: as the perfective of ‘get’ in past forms (I got), a past tense marker in colloquial speech, and a modal-like support for idioms like ‘you’ve got to’ (necessity). In many dialects, especially American English, contracted forms (‘gotta,’ ‘got to’) and reduced vowels show notable phonetic shifts, while in some varieties the past participle ‘gotten’ persists. The semantic flexibility—possession, obligation, arrival of objects—reflects the word’s long, evolving role in everyday communication. First attested in Middle English texts; its current high-frequency status owes to the simple, versatile verb form and its use in common phrases and contractions.
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Words that rhyme with "got"
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