How to pronounce “thought”
Say “thought” in one beat
thought
/θɔt/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /θɔːt/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- thoughtθɔt
- IPA (American)
- /θɔt/
- IPA (British)
- /θɔːt/
- Respelling
- THAWT
- Syllables
- 1 — thought
- Stress
- One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /θɔt/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
- Part of speech
- noun, verb
- Difficulty
- Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
American and British are not the same here
/θɔt/
/θɔːt/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “thought” means
- noun
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
“it was not a good idea”
- noun
the process of using your mind to consider something carefully
“thinking always made him frown”
- noun
the organized beliefs of a period or group or individual
“19th century thought”
Say it in a sentence
“I thought the meeting would be shorter than it actually was.”The sounds inside this word
Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.
“thought”, answered
How do you pronounce “thought”?
“thought” is pronounced /θɔt/ (THAWT) in American English and /θɔːt/ in British English — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /θɔt/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.
How many syllables does “thought” have?
One, despite the 2 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /θɔt/ — a single beat.
Is “thought” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /θɔt/ (THAWT); British English says /θɔːt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “thought” mean?
As a noun: the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about For example: “it was not a good idea” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “thought”?
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /θɔt/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Now say “thought” and see every sound
Record it once and sayit lines your audio up against the target sound by sound — what landed, what slipped, and what it sounded like instead.