One syllable: guts.
guhts
/ɡʌts/
guts is pronounced guhts (/ɡʌts/). It has one syllable (guts), with the stress on "guts". Guts refers to the internal organs, especially the stomach and intestines, or, in a figurative sense, courage and resolve. In everyday usage, it often denotes both physical entrails and a metaphorical backbone, implying resilience or boldness. The term appears in both literal medical contexts and idiomatic expressions about bravery or grit.
Guts refers to the internal organs, especially the stomach and intestines, or, in a figurative sense, courage and resolve. In everyday usage, it often denotes both physical entrails and a metaphorical backbone, implying resilience or boldness. The term appears in both literal medical contexts and idiomatic expressions about bravery or grit.
"She had the guts to stand up to the bully and speak her mind."
"The recipe called for the animal guts, which the chef carefully cleaned before cooking."
"It takes guts to admit you were wrong in front of the team."
Pronounce it as /ɡʌts/. Start with a voiced velar stop /ɡ/ as in get, then the short open-mid back lax /ʌ/ as in cup, followed by the final /ts/ cluster where the tongue sides touch the molars for a crisp sibilant. The word is one syllable with primary stress on the only syllable. Try to avoid a prolonged vowel or an extra syllable; a quick, clean release into /ts/ yields a natural sound.
Common errors include pronouncing it as /ɡʊts/ with a rounded /ʊ/ vowel, which softens the vowel and changes meaning; adding an extra syllable like /ˈɡəts/ or misarticulating the /t/ and /s/ as a single /tsz/ in rapid speech. To correct: keep the vowel as /ʌ/ (flat, as in cup) and ensure the /t/ is a clear, crisp stop before the /s/. Practice with minimal pairs and controlled timing to crisp up the final consonant cluster.
In US, UK, and AU, the core /ɡʌts/ remains similar, but the vowel length and quality can shift slightly: US tends to a flatter /ʌ/; some UK speakers may lean toward a slightly centralized or short /ɒ/ sound in fast speech, while AU speakers generally maintain /ʌ/ with strong, clipped final /ts/. Rhoticity does not alter this word’s vowels, but adjacent vowels in connected speech may influence rhythm and pace.
The challenge lies in the final /ts/ cluster, which requires precise timing: the /t/ is a quick plosive release that must precede a sharp sibilant /s/. The short lax vowel /ʌ/ must be crisp and not reduced in unstressed contexts, which is common in rapid speech. Additionally, some speakers inadvertently insert a vowel between /t/ and /s/ or merge /t/ into a /d/ sound in casual speech.
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Guts comes from Middle English gutte, from Old Norse gaut. The word originally referred to the entrails or viscera, i.e., the internal organs of an animal or person. Over time, it broadened to mean the bowels’ interior, especially the intestines. The metaphorical sense—courage or “guts”—emerged in English through body-based idioms: to have guts connotes the inner strength to face danger. First known uses in English literature trace to the 14th–15th centuries in medical and anatomical contexts, with figurative senses appearing in the early modern period as writers drew on bodily metaphor to describe mental courage. By the 19th and 20th centuries, guts had firmly settled into common idioms about bravery and resolve, while retaining its anatomical meaning in medical discourse. The dual semantic track—literal anatomy and figurative bravery—remains today, with the word frequently encountered in both clinical discussions and colloquial expressions about determination.
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Words that rhyme with "guts"
-uts sounds
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