2 syllables: o, mits. Stress on mits.
/oʊˈmɪts/
Say it backOmits is a verb meaning to leave out or exclude something, whether intentionally or accidentally. It is used to describe the act of not including details, steps, or items in a sequence, list, or description. In grammar, it often appears as third-person singular present or in present-tense forms, and can also function in noun phrases when discussing omissions.
- You might default to a long vowel in the stressed syllable, producing /oʊ/ or /ɒ/ instead of the short /ɪ/. Fix: relax the vowel to /ɪ/ and keep the stress on the second syllable. - You may separate /t/ and /s/ (as in /t/ + /s/) rather than delivering the affricate /ts/. Fix: practice with a rapid mouth motion that merges into /ts/; end with a single release. - Final consonant cluster is sometimes devoiced or omitted in casual speech; ensure voicing and release for /ts/ so listeners hear the final cluster clearly. Fix: use a light but distinct closure with the tip touching the alveolar ridge before the /s/ release.
"The editor omits several paragraphs from the final draft."
"She omits the citation in her report, which drew criticism from reviewers."
"During the ceremony, the emcee omits the usual long introductions."
Say /əˈmɪts/. Start with a schwa /ə/ in an unstressed syllable, then the stressed syllable /ˈmɪts/ with a short, clipped i as in ‘kit’ and a final /ts/ affricate. Lips relaxed, tip of tongue near the alveolar ridge, release quickly into a clean /t/ followed by /s/. You’ll hear a sharp end on the final consonant.
Two frequent errors are reducing the /ɪ/ to a schwa in the stressed syllable and misarticulating /ts/ as separate /t/ and /s/ without air release. Another is placing the stress on the first syllable, yielding /ˈoʊmɪts/ or /ˈɒmɪts/. Correction: maintain /əˈmɪts/ with a clear short /ɪ/ and a crisp /ts/ release, ensuring the final cluster is affricated rather than simply a /t/ plus /s/.
US/UK/AU all share /əˈmɪts/ in broad terms, but rhotacization and vowel quality vary. US tends to a slightly tenser /ɪ/ and crisper /t/ at the end; UK often produces a more centralized /ɪ/ with a lighter /t/ or glottalization in some dialects; Australian tends to a shorter, flatter /ɪ/ with a softer /t/ that can approach a alveolar tap in rapid speech. The final /ts/ may be less released in some UK and AU variants.
The difficulty lies in the final cluster /ts/ which requires a precise, short affricate release without adding a preceding /s/ or delaying the release. The stressed first consonant cluster /mɪt/ must be light and quick, with a crisp onset on /m/ and clear boundary before /ts/. In fast speech, the vowel can reduce, and the /t/ can blend into the /s/. Awareness of timing and tongue position helps keep the word precise.
In very casual or rapid speech, some speakers may reduce the final /t/ and shorten the /s/, producing something like /əˈmɪts/ with a weaker affricate, or three-phoneme realization /əˈmɪs/ with a held /s/. This is more common in rapid conversation or non-native speech. To maintain clarity, practice the clean /ts/ release and keep the /t/ and /s/ distinct even at faster speeds.
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- US: clear /əˈmɪts/ with a slightly higher vowel quality and crisper /t/; avoid vowel reduction in the stressed syllable. /t/ is often released with a brief puff, then /s/. - UK: can feature a more centralized /ɪ/ and sometimes a glottalized or softened /t/; keep the /ts/ well-formed even if the /t/ is short. - AU: often shorter vowels and slightly less pronounced final /t/; ensure the /s/ remains audible; you may hear a near-clip of /t/ preceding /s/.
The verb omits comes from the Old French omettre, frommettre ‘to put away, to put aside,’ which itself is from Latin omittere, literally ‘to send away’ or ‘to send forth (a thing) by letting it go.’ The prefix o- is a separable form of ob- with a sense of away, while -mittere is the root ‘to send’ (as in mission, emit). In English, omittere entered via French influences in Middle English (late 14th century), where it was used primarily in legal and ecclesiastical contexts to mean ‘to leave out or to refrain from doing something.’ Over time, usage broadened to general prose and formal writing, sustaining both the transitive sense (to omit something) and the intransitive sense (to omit oneself, as in “to omit from consideration”). By the 17th–18th centuries, omits appeared in dictionaries with typical syntactic flexibility: “to omit a detail,” “the omitted section.” The form has remained stable in modern English, retaining its core sense of removal or exclusion. The noun omission is closely related, denoting the act or instance of omitting. The word’s orthography reflects its preserved Latin root and its English verb conjugation, with the third-person singular present “omits” reflecting standard -s ending for regular verbs in present tense.
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Words that rhyme with "omits"
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