homophone

noun

ho·​mo·​phone ˈhä-mə-ˌfōn 

ˈhō-

1

grammar : one of two or more words pronounced alike but different in meaning or derivation or spelling (such as the words to, too, and two)

2

: a character or group of characters pronounced the same as another character or group

homophonous

hō-ˈmä-fə-nəs 

adjective

Did you know?

What are homonyms, homophones, and homographs?

Homonym can be troublesome because it may refer to three distinct classes of words. Homonyms may be words with identical pronunciations but different spellings and meanings, such as to, too, and two. Or they may be words with both identical pronunciations and identical spellings but different meanings, such as quail (the bird) and quail (to cringe). Finally, they may be words that are spelled alike but are different in pronunciation and meaning, such as the bow of a ship and bow that shoots arrows. The first and second types are sometimes called homophones, and the second and third types are sometimes called homographs—which makes naming the second type a bit confusing. Some language scholars prefer to limit homonym to the third type.

Examples of homophone in a Sentence

“To,” “too,” and “two” are homophones.

Recent Examples on the Web

Today’s groups are... Yellow group — party pooper Green group — musical sections Blue group — bit of liquid Purple group — vegetable homophones What Are Today’s Connections Answers? Spoiler alert! —Kris Holt, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024

The next step involved identifying the special symbols (homophones) and the overall structure of the cipher. —Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 8 Feb. 2023

Except, in the codex, many of these homophones were based on Nahuatl words, requiring knowledge of the language to decipher them. —Carolina A. Miranda, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2023

Now, here’s a smattering of homophones more crowded than triplets: oar/o’er/or/ore (4), air/ere/err/heir (4), and ewes/u’s/use/yews/youse (5). —Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Sep. 2023

However, ocean is not one of the homophones (and for good reason: the word does not have any homophones). —Deb Amlen, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2023

Every word in this sentence is a homophone, a word that sounds like another word but is spelled differently. —Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 July 2023

That’s where the puzzle element could come in: Some categories might be defined by their use of wordplay — palindromes, homophones, adding or dropping letters and words — rather than the literal meanings of the words on the cards. —Wyna Liu, New York Times, 26 June 2023

In Mandarin, four is a homophone with death. —cleveland, 15 Jan. 2021

Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary

First Known Use

1843, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

homophone

noun

ho·​mo·​phone ˈhäm-ə-ˌfōn 

ˈhō-mə-

: one of two or more words pronounced alike but different in meaning, origin, or spelling

"to," "too," and "two" are homophones

homophonic

ˌhäm-ə-ˈfän-ik

ˌhō-mə

-ˈfō-nik

adjective

homophonous

hō-ˈmäf-ə-nəs 

adjective