One syllable: Nought.
naht
/nɑt/
Nought is pronounced naht (/nɑt/). It has one syllable (Nought), with the stress on "Nought". Nought is an archaic or formal term for the number zero, used chiefly in British English and in mathematical or legal contexts. It can also function as an adverb meaning ‘not at all’ in phrases like “nought at all.” The word carries a tone of traditional or scholastic usage and often appears in British speech, literature, and some formal writing. 50-80 words.
adverbNought is an archaic or formal term for the number zero, used chiefly in British English and in mathematical or legal contexts. It can also function as an adverb meaning ‘not at all’ in phrases like “nought at all.” The word carries a tone of traditional or scholastic usage and often appears in British speech, literature, and some formal writing. 50-80 words.
- Focus on two main challenges: (1) Vowel length and quality: UK/AU /ɔː/ vs US /ɔ/. Practice with minimal pairs: nought /nɔːt/ vs note /noʊt/ to hear the difference. (2) Final /t/ release: avoid adding a vowel after the /t/; practice with short, sharp /t/ and no extra syllable. Corrections: use a light, crisp tongue-tip contact with the alveolar ridge and a short, explosive release while keeping the jaw relaxed. - Mutual practice: say nought in the context of phrases (“from nought to something”) to ensure natural rhythm. - Record yourself and compare with a native speaker, adjusting vowel length and consonant clarity until near-stable.
How to Pronounce Nought
"She looked at the dial and saw there was nought remaining."
"In some exams, the marks were nought if you missed the entire question."
"The forecast showed nought but rain for the day."
Pronounce as /nɔːt/ in UK and AU accents, with a long back, rounded vowel similar to ‘nawt’; in US, the closest is /nɔt/ or often more like /nɔːt/ depending on speaker. Stress is on the single syllable; lips are rounded slightly, jaw relaxed, and the tongue sits low to mid- back of the mouth. You’ll hear a tight, pure vowel followed by a T consonant; avoid adding an extra vowel after the /t/. IPA guides: UK/AU /nɔːt/, US /nɔt/.
Common errors: (1) Merging the /t/ into a glottal stop; press the tip of the tongue to the alveolar ridge to release the /t/ clearly. (2) Using a short American ‘aw’ vowel; aim for the longer /ɔː/ in UK/AU in most contexts. (3) Adding a vowel after the /t/ as if saying ‘nawt-uh’; keep a clean, single-syllable /t/ release. Correct by practicing with minimal pairs like ‘nought’ vs ‘naught-uh’ to enforce final stop clarity.
US speakers tend toward /nɔt/ with a shorter, tighter vowel and strong final /t/. UK/AU speakers typically articulate /nɔːt/, a longer, rounded vowel and clear /t/ release. Rhoticity is not a factor here (the word isn’t rhotic-dependent), but vowel quality is; you’ll notice a tenser, longer vowel in British and Australian contexts. When in doubt, imitate a native UK short-essay reading to calibrate the /ɔː/ length.
The difficulty lies in achieving the precise back rounded /ɔː/ versus the shorter /ɔ/ commonly heard in American speech, plus a crisp /t/ release without a following vowel. Learners often add a schwa after the /t/ or misplace the tongue so the lip rounding isn’t sustained. Focus on a single, clean syllable with a relaxed jaw and a crisp alveolar stop at the end. IPA guidance /nɔːt/ (UK/AU) vs /nɔt/ (US).
Nought is a single-stressed monosyllable with no silent letters; the key is the vowel quality and the final /t/ release. There’s no stress shift as there’s only one syllable, but the vowel can lengthen in careful speech (nɔːt) in UK/AU; in US it remains shorter (nɔt). The word’s formality and historical flavor come from its spelling, where -ought signals similar sounds as other ‘-ought’ words but with a distinct pronunciation in many dialects.
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- US: shorter vowel /ɔ/ and less lip rounding; you may hear a flatter sound. - UK/AU: longer /ɔː/ with rounded lips; hold the vowel slightly longer before releasing the /t/. - Consider rhoticity: rhotic accents do not apply here; you’ll still pronounce the same vowel regardless of /r/ presence elsewhere. - IPA anchors: US /nɔt/, UK/AU /nɔːt/; mirror native sources for precise vowel length in specific contexts.
Nought comes from the Old English word nawiht, literally meaning ‘not a whit,’ with na- meaning ‘not’ and wiht meaning ‘anything’ or ‘thing.’ It evolved into nawt or naught in Middle English, influenced by similar Old Norse and Germanic constructs that expressed negation of quantity. By early modern English, naught appeared as the standard term for zero or nothing in both spoken and printed forms. The word historically shares semantic space with other negations and with the numeral zero; in mathematics, the modern numerals and the concept of zero gained prominence in the Renaissance, while naught retained its traditional, sometimes poetic or rhetorical flair. First known use appears in Middle English texts, with stable usage by the 14th century in both prose and verse. Over centuries, its usage broadened to include idiomatic phrases (e.g., “naught but,” “turn to naught”) that emphasize total negation or emptiness. 200-300 words.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Nought" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "Nought"
-ght sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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