homophone

[ hom-uh-fohn, hoh-muh- ]
See synonyms for: homophonehomophones on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. Phonetics. a word pronounced the same as another but differing in meaning, whether spelled the same way or not, as heir and air.

  2. a written element that represents the same spoken unit as another, as ks, a homophone of x in English.

Origin of homophone

1
First recorded in 1615–25; back formation from homophonous

synonym study For homophone

See homonym.

Words that may be confused with homophone

Words Nearby homophone

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use homophone in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for homophone

homophone

/ (ˈhɒməˌfəʊn) /


noun
  1. one of a group of words pronounced in the same way but differing in meaning or spelling or both, as for example bear and bare

  2. a written letter or combination of letters that represents the same speech sound as another: ``ph'' is a homophone of ``f'' in English

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012