One syllable: hauls.
hawlz
/hɔlz/
hauls is pronounced hawlz (/hɔlz/). It has one syllable (hauls), with the stress on "hauls". Hauls is the third-person singular present tense and plural noun form of haul, meaning to pull or drag something with effort, or the act of hauling itself. In everyday usage it can refer to a large quantity carried or transported, or the process of pulling something heavy over a distance. The word combines a verb root with plural or subject-verb agreement, and it often appears in contexts involving transport, labor, or collection.
Hauls is the third-person singular present tense and plural noun form of haul, meaning to pull or drag something with effort, or the act of hauling itself. In everyday usage it can refer to a large quantity carried or transported, or the process of pulling something heavy over a distance. The word combines a verb root with plural or subject-verb agreement, and it often appears in contexts involving transport, labor, or collection.
"- The fishermen hauls of fish filled the boats after dawn."
"- The truck hauls goods across the country."
"- She hauls heavy boxes up the stairs every weekend."
Pronounce as /hɔːlz/ in UK and AU, and /hælz/ in US, with a single syllable and final /lz/ cluster. The vowel before the /l/ is a back vowel in UK/AU and a short front vowel in US. Place the tongue high-mid for /ɔː/ or /æ/, then bring the lips into a small rounded position for the /ɔː/ variant, and finish with the /lz/ consonant cluster. You’ll want a crisp /l/ followed by a voiced /z/ to give the final “ls” sound. Audio references: try Cambridge or Oxford dictionaries for the exact clips.”,
Common errors: 1) Substituting a long /a/ or /e/ vowel instead of the correct /ɔː/ in UK/AU, 2) dropping the final /z/ or turning it into /s/, 3) confusion between /h/ onset and silent h. Correction: produce a short breathy /h/, then the back rounded /ɔː/ in UK/AU or /æ/ in US; ensure the final voiced /z/ is audible after the /l/ by gently vibrating your vocal cords. Practice with minimal pairs: hauls vs halls to feel the vowel shift.
US tends to use /hælz/ with a short /a/ as in cat, and a clear /z/ at the end; UK/AU use /hɔːlz/ with a longer /ɔː/ vowel and a less rhotic feel but still voiced /l/ and /z/. The main difference is vowel quality and potential rhoticity; US is typically non-rhotic, while AU is transitional; UK remains non-rhotic. Keep final /lz/ crisp across all accents, but the preceding vowel length and quality is the key differentiator.
The difficulty stems from the final /lz/ cluster, which requires precise voicing of /l/ followed by /z/. In some accents, the /ɔː/ vowel in UK/AU is long and rounded, which can blend with the /l/ if not separated carefully. The US /æ/ vowel can cause confusion with similar words like ‘halls’ if you don’t maintain a voiced /z/. Focus on a clean, voiced /z/ after the /l/ and a distinct vowel before the consonant cluster.
Yes—hauls as a plural noun often implies multiple shipments or sizable catches; as a verb, it means the act of pulling or dragging. The critical phonetic nuance is maintaining a clear /l/ before the voiced /z/ and not turning the /l/ into a vowel or a light /s/. You’ll hear a little more tension in the jaw for US /æ/; UK/AU lean into /ɔː/ and a longer vowel duration. This difference can subtly affect the perceived meaning in context.
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Hauls derives from haul, which originates from Middle English houl, from Old Norse hlaa or hla, meaning to drag or tow. The verb sense “to pull with effort” is attested in early Middle English, evolving in parallel with nautical and carpentry terminology as goods were moved by hand and by cart. The noun form hauls (plural) is a simple extension used in accounting and trade to indicate quantities hauled or the act itself. The word’s semantic field expanded in the 19th and 20th centuries with industrialization and transport, where “hauls” became a common descriptor for cargo movements, shipments, and large collections of items, especially in news reporting and cargo tracking. First known use as a plural noun appears in maritime and railway contexts, while the verb form remains the dominant everyday usage: “to haul.” The evolution reflects a rapid shift from a physical action to an evaluative quantity of goods moved, a trend reinforced by phrases like “large hauls” and “haulage” that entered common business vocabulary in the industrial era.
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Words that rhyme with "hauls"
-me) sounds
-lls sounds
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