A sore throat refers to pain, scratchiness, or irritation in the throat, often accompanying a cold, flu, or infection. It is typically temporary, can worsen with swallowing, and may be accompanied by discomfort or a lump-in-throat sensation. Distinguishing this from habitual throat clearing is important for appropriate self-care and when evaluating the need for medical attention.
"I woke up with a sore throat after the long flight."
"She gargled salt water to soothe her sore throat."
"His sore throat worsened as the day went on, so he stayed home from work."
"The doctor suggested lozenges for the sore throat and recommended rest."
The term sore throat combines sore, from Old English saru, meaning painful or a sign of illness, with throat, from Old English þroat, related to Proto-Germanic thrauþan, denoting the neck or passage for air and food. The compound likely emerged in Middle English as sufferers described throat pain during respiratory illnesses. Usage rose with medical discussions of pharyngitis and tonsillitis in the 17th–19th centuries, transitioning into common parlance to describe any irritation or painful sensation in the throat. Today, sore throat is a non-technical, everyday diagnosis used in clinical notes and consumer health information, often with qualifiers like “severe,” “persistent,” or “accompanied by fever” to indicate seriousness. The hyphenated form sore-throat emphasizes the dual components of symptom-site and symptom-quality, and persists in modern usage across medical and lay contexts.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Sore-Throat" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "Sore-Throat"
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Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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Pronounce it as /ˈsɔːrˌθroʊt/ in US and UK accents, with primary stress on Sore and secondary on Throat as part of the compound. Start with an open back rounded vowel in Sore, then release the /r/ with a clear /ö/ in Throat. The two words flow together with minimal pause in natural speech. Listen for a slight linking between /r/ and /θ/, so the sequence is /ˈsɔːrˌθroʊt/. Audio reference: standard dictionary pronunciations on Cambridge/Oxford dictionaries can guide your listening practice.
Common errors: misplacing stress (saying ˈsɔː θroʊt), conflating /θr/ into a single sound, or eliding the /r/ in American rapid speech. Correct by sustaining the /r/ before the /θ/ and clearly articulating θ as a voiceless interdental fricative, then the /roʊt/ with a rounded /oʊ/. Practice with slow, exaggerated enunciation first, then reduce to natural pace.
In US English, /ˈsɔrˌθroʊt/ with rhotic /r/ and a clear /oʊ/ in throat. UK English often has /ˈsɔːθrəʊt/ with non-rhotic /r/ and a tighter /əʊ/ in throat; US listeners may hear a slight /r/ influence. Australian English tends to be non-rhotic with vowel height closer to /ɒ/ for Sore and a more centralized /əʊ/ in throat. In all, the θ remains voiceless, and the /t/ at the end is released, not clipped.
The difficulty lies in coordinating the vowel shift from Sore to the interdental voiceless fricative /θ/ in Throat, and then the final /t/. Many speakers struggle with the transition between the rounded back vowel /ɔː/ and the dental /θ/, especially when speaking quickly. Maintaining a crisp /θ/ and avoiding a blended /ð/ is essential. Also, mild vowel reduction in connected speech can blur the contrast between /ɔː/ and /oʊ/, so practice targeted minimal pairs.
Hyphenation in sore-throat signals a dual-memed symptom; in pronunciation, you segment Sore and Throat but keep them in one fluid phrase. The critical features are the rhotic /r/ before θ in American speech and ensuring the dental /θ/ is crisp and aspirated slightly when stressed. In many educational resources, you’ll find differentiation helps: Sore [sɔː], Throat [θroʊt], then linking phonetics in rapid speech for natural-sounding compound pronunciation.
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